Amaryllis: The Story of The Blue Fairy
by MissiB
Summary: Rumplestiltskin did it to protect his son. Regina did it to avenge her True Love. Cora did it because she wanted power. But what about Rhuel Gohrm, the Blue Fairy? Was she born to be the most powerful creature in the Enchanted Forest, or did she choose it? And if so, why? Was it for power? Or was it for something else?
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time does not belong to me. All characters and references to the show belong to ABC and Channel 5**_

_Rumplestiltskin did it to protect his son. Regina did it to avenge her True Love. Cora did it because she wanted power. But what about Rhuel Gohrm, the Blue Fairy? Was she born to be the most powerful creature in the Enchanted Forest, or did she choose it? And if so, why? Was it for power?_

_Or was it for something else?_

Amaryllis: The Story of The Blue Fairy-Prologue

Night had fallen on the Enchanted Forest, the stars that surrounded the glowing full moon twinkling brightly, silvery light dappling the leaves of tree's, the strands of grass, and the roofs of cottages and castles in it's protective glimmer.

In a small corner of the land, a small, but welcoming cottage rests. A well resides outside the home, and the cottage's brickwork is old but strong with one singular candle lighting up a window on the ground floor, showing the assortment of wooden puppets, clocks and toys inside.

Gepetto, the old and kindly man who lives there with his seven year old son who used to be made of wood and a talking cricket, is woken by a timid knocking at the door. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he wraps a frayed brown dressing gown around his pale nightshirt and places a candle in the holder, lighting it before making his way to the door. He passes the lump of enchanted wood in his hallway as he goes. It's the log he's been charged with turning into a magical wardrobe for the King and Queen.

_What could anyone want at this hour? _Gepetto silently wondered as he opened the door, and his dark eyes widened when they met his unexpected visitor. She was tiny, smaller than en elf, and clad from head to toe in blue, her brown hair piled in high curls atop her head and her blue glow illuminating the doorway, making the candle completely unnecessary. In her left hand, she held her wand, and on her back was a set of shimmering blue wings which she was using to hover so that she was eye-level with the puppet-maker.

"Blue?" said Gepetto, his Italian accent layered with surprise before he recovered, smiling welcomingly "What an unexpected surprise!"

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you, I know it's late-" she apologised straight away, a flicker of guilt on her compassionate features, but Gepetto shook his head.

"Not at all, my lady! Is there something I can do for you?" he asked. The Blue Fairy hesitated, and for the first time since he'd known her, she looked conflicted, but in the end she shook her head.

"No. Thank-you but...it's not your help I seek, I..." again, she hesitated, and Gepetto noticed the way her hand tightened on her wand. His brow furrowed slightly, was there...something _wrong? _Something more than the Evil Queen's impending curse?

"I was actually hoping to talk to Jiminy" said the fairy, her voice coming out in a rush, and Gepetto's silver brows rose in surprise.

"I'm already here" came a small voice, and both the Blue Fairy and Gepetto looked down at his candle holder to see Jiminy Cricket, dressed in his usual top hat and jacket, standing on the metal that circled the puppet-maker's finger.

"How can I help you?" he asked the Blue Fairy before anyone could ask him how he'd appeared, but instead of answering him, she turned to the older man:

"Gepetto? Would it be possible for me to speak to Jiminy...privately?" she asked, as if afraid of appearing rude, but Gepetto, far too mystified by the way the fairy was acting to take offence, merely nodded. Carrying the candle holder he led the blue fairy through his home until they came to the workshop where he made his creations. The room was almost unfurnished except for a wide wooden table and chair-which, along with the stone floor, were covered with wood shavings-and woodwork tools decorating the bricked walls. It was the one room he never let Pinocchio into alone lest he hurt himself, and as a result was the only room with a lock.

The Blue Fairy flew inside, and Gepetto blushed as the graceful, pin-neat creature of light took in the messy room.

"I-I apologise for the mess" he said, hastily (but gently) placing the candle holder on the table and sweeping some wood shavings on the floor "No-one really uses this room except for me!" he chuckled nervously.

"It's fine" said the fairy, her voice soothing, albeit slightly amused "You don't have to worry, truly" she flitted down to the table, her slippered feet hovering above the dusty worktop. Gepetto went to respond when he caught the look on her face. Was his sight finally going or...did she look _tense?_

From the candle holder, he heard Jiminy hissing his name and looked down "What?"

"I said I think you should go now!" the cricket hissed. Gepetto glanced at the Blue Fairy, and deduced that his friend was right. He backed away from the table, leaving the candle behind:

"I will, ah...leave you to it" he said uneasily, at which the Blue Fairy looked round at him, flashing him a grateful smile.

"Thank-you for this, Gepetto" she said sincerely, still flying above the table "You are a good man for doing this"

Gepetto shrugged modestly, reaching the door and closing it behind him before he went back to bed, leaving the cricket alone with the most powerful being in the world.

Turning to her, the insect hopped off the candle holder. He looked up as her feet finally touched the table top.

"So, uh" he started, as unsure as Gepetto of what was going on "What can I do for you, Milady?"

"I..." the Blue Fairy stared, fiddling with her wand. She lifted it questioningly "W-would you mind if I conjured something to sit on? We...we could be here a while"

Jiminy blinked his big black eyes "N-no!" he shook his head, stunned that the _Blue Fairy _was asking _his_ permission to perform magic "No, of course not!"

She nodded gratefully, and with a wave of her wand a minuet chair appeared, a simple thing made of wicker and coloured a pretty baby blue. She sat on the chair, her wand in her lap and her knee's pressed together.

Jiminy tilted his head curiously. When the Blue Fairy had first arrived here, he'd assumed she'd had a new job for him. He'd really hoped it was nothing long term, for he loved Pinocchio, and Gepetto was the best friend he'd ever had. He really didn't want to leave them.

But now, the way she was sitting, with her neck bent and her hands in her lap...he'd seen that look before on other people who'd requested his assistance, a look he'd never expected to see on the Blue Fairy. It was the look of someone who needed to talk, but couldn't quite find the words.

"Um...Blue?" he said gently, and when she looked towards him he was glad that his insect face didn't betray his emotions easily "Is...there something you want to talk about?"

Taking in a deep breath, the fairy out a long exhale. She nodded.

"Yes, I suppose there is" she said, her voice actually _shaking,_ and Jiminy hopped back on the candle holder-the candle of which had lost almost a third in height-and rested his legs on the cool metal.

"So, what is it? That you want to talk about?" he delicately prompted, taking a moment to register that never, in all his years as a living conscience, had he seen anyone more stressed than the magical creature in front of him. The Blue Fairy took another shuddering breath, hesitant to trust.

"Jiminy, before we continue I need you to give me your word that everything I say here" she swept her hand around the room "Will _never _leave this place. You cannot breathe a word of this to anyone, do you understand me?" she told him, her voice hardening in a way that was almost fierce. Unable to speak, Jiminy simply nodded, and she twisted her hands in her lap, speaking words of thanks.

The cricket waited patiently as she appeared to temporarily war with herself before saying another word, and when she spoke, she spoke simply, as if she didn't expect her next words to have any impact whatsoever:

"I want to talk about my daughter"

OUAT

For a few moments, Jiminy simply stared at the Blue Fairy, trying to process what she'd just said. She sat there, watching him, waiting for him to respond, which of course he eventually did. How could he not?

"A...a daughter?!" he repeated, his green eyelids blinking rapidly, pointing at her with a leg that was threaded through his jacket "You had-?"

"A daughter" the Blue Fairy finished for him, her hands clasping together "Yes, Jiminy. I was a mother once"

"But I thought fairies were born a..." again, he was thankful that he had a face that didn't betray his emotions, or blush "A...different way? Through a childs first laugh?" he said, and the Blue Fairy chuckled softly

"My dear, I believe you are thinking of _pixies" _she smiled "But you are right in one sense. Fairies are indeed born a different way to humans. When a human baby girl is dying" she explained "A fairy will come and offer to keep their daughter's spirit alive in a fairy's form. Should the mother agree, the baby is taken and given the magic she needs to become like us, and is then raised to cast spells and do good in the world" a soft, amused smile then graced her lips "Some humans are under the belief that we steal these children, calling them 'Changelings'" she said, and Jiminy started at the woman in disbelief, hardly able to believe that she was telling him this.

"However" she continued, becoming serious once more "We are still able to conceive children of our own"

Again, the cricket lapsed into silence, trying to remain calm during this onslaught and work out what to say next "Um...uh..." he started, and the Blue Fairy watched him calmly "If...if you don't mind my asking, Milady, who...who was the father?" the Blue Fairy's lips tightened into a hard line, and he instantly regretted his words. What was he thinking?! That was _far_ too personal! "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry-"

"Don't" the fairy stopped him, lifting a hand "It's alright. I suppose you have the right to ask. Why wouldn't you?" she chuckled softly, but Jiminy could see the sadness in her eyes.

"He was a pixie that was visiting our world-something to do with a flower, I don't know-where he met me. He was...charming, I suppose you could say" she smiled softly, lost in her memories "And _so_ mischievous. He could always make me laugh"

"So, what happened?" Jiminy asked, and the smile left the Blue Fairy's lips.

"After he had done what he came to do, he came back for me and we were together for a few months, but one day, he had to leave. He told me that he loved me, and that he was sorry, but his king had commanded that he return to him, and that he was needed in his own world. I told him I understood" she breathed a heavy sigh, her shining eyes looking up as she continued "We didn't know that I was..." she trailed off, swallowing and gesturing to her stomach sadly.

"P-pregnant?" Jiminy tentively finished, and the Blue Fairy nodded, leaning back in her seat:

"Jiminy, before we begin...there is something you should know about me. I...have not been _this" _she gestured to her blue clothing "For as long as everyone thinks. Granted, I have been around for a _very, _long time, but there was a period in my life where I was just...Rhuel Gohrm, a simple fairy"

"I see" Jiminy nodded, starting to become accustomed to these constant waves of stunning information "And, uh, how long ago was this?"

Before she answered, the Blue Fairy looked down at her wand, twisting it in her fingers, looking at it like it was a ghost "I officially became the Queen of the Fairies five hundred years ago" she said, her voice low.

"I see" said Jiminy "And is that when you had-?"

"That, my dear Jiminy" the Blue Fairy dropped her wand back in her lap, fixing her brown eyed gaze upon him "Is where my story begins"

_**This was a previously abandoned idea that I decided to give another go, it shouldn't be that many chapters long-definitely not above ten-but let me know if you want to see more.**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time does not belong to me. All characters and references to the show belong to ABC and Channel 5**_

Amaryllis: The Story of The Blue Fairy-Chapter 1

_Five hundred years ago, in Fairyland_

Above the Enchanted Forest, higher than the clouds and hidden from the eyes of humans and magical creatures alike, rests a land made of children's dreams. It is the kingdom of the sky, where the streets are paved with solid, but clear pathways made of cloud residue that light up like the glowing moon at night. The little cottages and buildings are coloured pure white, changing to deep navy when the sun sets, and although no plants can grow in this land, slivers of white and grey clouds twist themselves around homes and pathways, decorating them with swirls and spikes of soft silver and white. This is the land of the fairies.

At the centre of Fairyland there is a huge castle that shines as though it was made of porcelain, older than any home in the sky. It is the home of the Queen of the Fairies, and within it is Rhuel Gohrm, standing inside the Queens personal chambers. The walls of the room are decorated different shades of red in the pattern of Oak leaves, and an intricate four-poster bed made of dark Oak wood lays in the centre, covered in quilts made of the finest burgundy cotton. Opposite that there is a beautiful Ash wood wardrobe with golden handles. The doors to the wardrobe are open, and a fairy with dark eyes and dark hair is standing in front of it.

"What about this one?" said Rhuel Gohrm, holding out the beautiful silver gown that was so superior to her chocolate brown work dress, the colour of which reflected on the shimmering texture of her wings, making them appear the same shade of brown as her garment. The skirt of the dress was flatter on her legs and more manageable than the usual, sticking-out fashion fairies usually wore. Queen Raine, wrapped in a purple velvet dressing gown, stepped forward and felt the silk of the silver gown, which was long and shimmery, between her fingers.

"Possibly" the queen mused "It is very beautiful..."

"And you will look beautiful in it, your highness!" said Rhuel, and she wasn't lying. With her caramel skin, long chestnut hair, shining blue eyes and gossamer wings that were reflecting the purple colour of her dressing gown, Queen Raine had once been the most beautiful of all fairies. But in the ten thousand years of her life her skin had wrinkled and her hair had turned white, but in the way of a true queen she still held herself strong, never loosing her regality, kindness, or sharp intelligence, and the shine of her eyes still remained.

The Queen smiled, holding the dress against herself and looking up at her Lady in Waiting "Do you know? I think you might be right"

Both women chuckled merrily before Rhuel helped the Queen try the dress on. She then opened the wardrobe door further so that Raine could see herself in the built-in mirror. She smiled delightedly, loving the way the colour made her wings shine silver and the material flowed around her curves, making her body look years younger than it truly was.

"Oh yes, Rhuel, this is _perfect _for the ball!" she said happily, and Rhuel smiled in victory.

OUAT

"Ball?" Jiminy questioned.

"To celebrate the Winter Solstice" the Blue Fairy explained "She threw one every year for all the fairies" she paused, her eyes becoming lost in the past once again "The queen was a very good woman. She took pity on me after I got pregnant and made me her Lady in Waiting...if it wasn't for her I would never have been allowed back into Fairyland"

"I see" said Jiminy "But...what does this have to do with your daughter?" he asked curiously.

"I'm getting to that" the fairy told him "Trust me, Jiminy, everything I'm telling you is relevant"

OUAT

Reaching over to the wooden dressing table where her queen kept her jewellery-where, also, the two women's dagger-like wands lay, Queen Raine's being silver, and Rhuels being a bright blue-she picked up a thin necklace with a small snowflake that hung on the chain and held it out to the queen, who accepted it and put it around her neck. She turned to Rhuel, who bowed her head respectfully "Most becoming, my lady"

"Thank-you my dear. You will be attending the ball too, I expect?" the queen asked, and Rhuel's neck stiffened. She slowly raised her head.

"I...I'm sorry, but, I don't think I'll be able to attend" she said apologetically, causing the queen to frown.

"Why ever not?" she asked with concern. The ball of the Winter Solstice was one of the grandest events on the Fairyland calendar, the party being held by the Queen herself in her grand ballroom. It was a night filled with music and dancing, as well as a huge feast that spread across the long wall so that no-one left for home without a full stomach. It was rare for any fairy not to attend.

Rhuel licked her lips nervously. She knew her queen was just and good, and in the thirteen years that she had been her Lady in Waiting she had begun to consider her a friend. But it was at times like this that she was reminded that Raine was the _queen, _and to refuse her would seem like a great insult in the fairy community.

"Rhuel?" said Raine, a wondering look on her face. It was then that Rhuel Gohrm realised she hadn't answered her question.

"Oh! Forgive me, my lady but...it's my daughters birthday today and-"

"Oh, of _course!" _exclaimed the queen, looking thoroughly embarrassed "I am so sorry!"

"It's quite alright, my lady" Rhuel responded, although secretly she was thoroughly relieved.

Raine was shook her head at her mistake "Curse my forgetfulness. Must be my old age!" she chuckled lightly. Sitting down on a low stool, her eyes followed Rhuel as she picked up a golden-backed brush and started to brush the queens white hair "So, what are you two doing tonight?"

"Oh, I don't know. Probably something small" Rhuel shrugged, keeping her voice deceptively light "A present, cake..." she trailed off, not really wanting to explain her poor excuse for a celebration.

"Hm" Raine didn't want to insult her friend, but she couldn't help but feel that the celebration Rhuel was describing sounded a little...lacking. Surely there had to be a better option? Then, it came to her:

"Why not bring her to the ball instead?" she suggested, and Rhuel paused in her brushing, staring at the queen in disbelief.

"A-are you sure?" she stammered. The ball was usually an adult event, the fairy children left at home with a minder. The Queen nodded, twisting her head to face the younger fairy.

"Of course! She's thirteen now, isn't she?"

"Yes" Rhuel responded, and Queen Raine nodded again as if that decided it

"Well then, she should be old enough to attend her first ball!"

"Oh my Gods..." gasped Rhuel, her shocked look fading until it became a wide smile of absolute delight "That would mean the whole world to her, she's always wanted to go to Solstice!" she gushed happily "But...are you sure-?"

"Of course I'm sure!" exclaimed Queen Raine, as if it was obvious. She straightened her back as Rhuel picked up her white hair and started to twist it into a tall style "You're daughter is a delightful girl, Rhuel, and I imagine she'd have a lovely time"

"Oh, I know she would! Thank-you so much, my lady!"

Raine grinned "It's no matter, my friend" she said, and Rhuel continued brushing her hair, a warm look of joy on her face.

Then, as she finished twisting Raine's hair and started threading glittering beads into the strands, the queen suddenly doubled over at the stomach, gasping in sudden pain "Oh!"

"Raine?!" Rhuel cried, grabbing the queens shoulders and pulling her back to look at her face. It was pinched in pain "Are you alright? What's wrong?!"

"My wand!" commanded the queen in a tight voice, one arm wrapped around her middle like a vice. Rhuel wasted no time in reaching over to the dresser, picking up her queens wand, and pressing it into her outstretched hand.

"My lady..." Rhuel gasped as her queen passed her wand over her body, the magical device glowing a bright silver as it worked. Soon, the queen let out a breath of relief, all traces of pain gone from her face as she sat back up in her chair and passed Rhuel her wand, which she promptly put back on the dresser beside her own before, with shaking hands, she continued styling Raine's hair.

"Raine..." Rhuel said after a long silence.

"Don't" the tone was polite, but it was a clear order, one that Rhuel chose to ignore.

"That's the third time this week-"

"I said, _don't"_

"Raine, you must realise that these pains are getting more and more frequent! Would it be so difficult to see a doctor-?"

"Rhuel Gohrm, you are overstepping your position!" snapped the queen, tearing her head away from her hands and twisting her neck so that she could fix her Lady in Waiting with an icy glare.

"Rhuel, I do not pretend to be a young woman" she said, irritation biting the ends of her words "I am aware of how old I am, and what my old age brings! I do not need you to worry about me over every slight pain! I'm _fine_"

Rhuel wanted to argue, she knew she probably should, but she also knew that if she pressed any further she could loose a good friendship _and _her job, so instead of saying anything more, she bowed her head and clasped her hands in front of her pelvis.

"My sincerest apologies, my lady. I overstepped my boundaries, I'm sorry" she said, looking up only when she heard the queen sigh at her.

"That's quite alright, my dear. I know you mean well" she said, reaching up and gently cupping her chin in her hand. She let go and stood up to face her mirror again, smiling at the reflection "This is perfect, Rhuel" she said, raising a hand to gently touch her hair. Not turning away from the mirror, she spoke again "I require nothing more of you tonight. You can go"

Rhuel blinked in surprise. She was sending her away _early? _"But...I'm not finished, my lady!" she protested "I still have to do your make-up, and-"

"Oh, I can take care of that!" said Queen Raine, waving off her arguments "I'm not _completely _dependant on others! Besides" she suddenly grinned, making her aged face look years younger "Don't you and a certain thirteen year old have a ball to get ready for?"

For the second time that day, Rhuel felt the huge, happy smile spread across her face. Snapping out her blue wings she flew towards her queen and wrapped her in a hug. The queen grunted in surprise and then laughed, patting her fellow fairy on the back.

Beaming at her, Rhuel pulled away and flew out of the room, grabbing her wand and calling out an ecstatic "Thank-you!" as she went. Queen Raine laughed heartily, following her trail to the doorway where she called back:

"Think nothing of it, dear! Just wish Amaryllis a happy birthday for me!"

OUAT

"Amaryllis?" Jiminy repeated, and the Blue Fairy's eyes closed tightly at the sound of her name, as if it hurt her.

"Th-that was her name" her voice was shaking, like she was holding back tears of anguish "I-I used to call her "Lissy" for short. It used to drive her insane!" the sentence ended with a short, watery laugh. She opened her eyes.

"Would you like to tell me about her?" Jiminy asked gently, and the Blue Fairy nodded, taking in a long, shuddering breath:

"She was _beautiful" _her tone was adoring, as though she was a devote worshipper describing her deity "She was dark like me, but she...she had her fathers blue eyes, they shone like the sun whenever she was happy or excited" her lips curved in a watery smile, and she lifted a gloved hand to stem the water in her eyes "She could be so mischievous, though, always getting into trouble. But she had a good heart...it was impossible not to love her" she looked down at her lap again, her fingers lacing together and her shoulders stiff. Jiminy felt a stab of sympathy for her.

"If you want, we can stop-"

"No" the Blue Fairy looked up immediately, cold determination on her face "I...I'd rather continue with my story"

"That's fine" Jiminy said, raising his front to pinchers "Please continue"

"Thank-you. I flew from the castle straight back to my cottage. I left Lissy with a friend I had asked to take care of her while I worked, and I was so excited to tell her about the ball..."

OUAT

Rhuel Gohrm walked through the door of her two-bedroom cottage. The small walls of the hallway were, unlike the light outside, a chocolate brown colour with hand drawn pictures of flowers-mostly amaryllis'-hung on them, as well as two navy cloaks for cold days that hung on hooks next to the door.

"Amaryllis? Goldie?" Rhuel called, walking through the cottage.

"Through here!" came a deep female voice from the kitchen, and Rhuel walked into the room. Unlike the hall, the walls were a pale pink colour, with a small stove and white wicker table in the centre where Eurwen was sat. She was a dark skinned fairy with dark, frizzy hair and brown eyes, dressed the fancy, gold couloured gown with a sticky-out skirt and gold wings to match. In her right hand she held her golden wand.

"Hello Rhuel!" Eurwen greeted her cheerily, her left hand wrapped around a china cup of tea "You're back early!"

"Hey Mom! Look what Eurwen got me for my birthday!" as the voice of an angel rang through the kitchen and landed on the mothers ears, Rhuel Gorhm turned to see a beautiful silver bracelet with crescent moon's dangling on the thick chain being held out to her by a slender hand. The fairy child who was standing on her seat and holding it out was a picture of loveliness, she had her mother's shoulder length, light brown hair and cute nose, but her skin was pale white instead of peach, and her eyes were a bright sapphire blue. On the back of her light green dress, the pattern of which was similar to Eurwen's, was a set of translucent wings that, unlike those of a pure fairy, did not seem to have the same shimmering texture, and so were the plain white of a pixie, something Rhuel knew she could only have inherited from her father. The childs eyes glittered with delight as she slid the bracelet over her wrist "Isn't it beautiful?" she squealed.

"It most certainly is, Birthday Girl" smiled Rhuel "Although I thought we agreed you were going to open your gifts later tonight?" she added, sending Euwen a hard look. The golden fairy sipped her tea guiltily, muttering something about 'Not being able to help it'

Rolling her eyes, Rhuel took the last available seat beside Eurwen, putting her wand on the table and turning her attention back to her excitable daughter "Did you say at least say thank-you, Lissy?"

"Thank-you, Eurwen!" Amaryllis said immediately "And stop calling me that!" she complained loudly, causing both women to laugh when she _thumped _back down into her seat.

"O.k, sorry _Amaryllis" _Rhuel grinned, not sounding one bit sorry.

"You named me, it shouldn't be _that _hard to get my name right!" Amaryllis grumbled, and Eurwen choked on her tea. Rhuel Gohrm narrowed her eyes.

"You want to watch the attitude, young lady!" she chastised "Otherwise someone might not get their other birthday presents"

"Present_s?" _Amaryllis repeated, emphasising the plural, and Rhuel's grin turned mischievous as even Eurwen turned looked at her curiously. Rhuel could barely contain her excitement, she was going to be so thrilled!

"Present_s, _Rhuel?" Eurwen questioned, exaggerating the plural just like Amaryllis had done, and Rhuel knew her friend was wondering if she had used her magic to conjure more gifts for her daughter, even though it was frowned upon for fairies to use their magic for material possessions inside of Fairyland. Not forbidden, but most fairies-like Eurwen-felt that they should only use their magic when strictly necessary.

Rhuel gave her a reassuring look before gesturing for Amaryllis to come up to her. Hopping down from the table, the thirteen year old hurried over to her mother, an eager look on her young face.

Reaching into the pocket of her dress, Rhuel pulled out a small bag of brown velvet that was tied with black drawstrings and placed it in Amaryllis' hand where she immediately started to tear it open. A few days before her birthday Rhuel had gone down to earth especially to get the item, it had cost two coppers and one silver to buy, and she prayed to the gods that her child would like it.

From her own chair, Eurwen leaned forward in her seat, eager to see Amaryllis' reaction as she finally got the bag open and tipped it into her palm.

As the child stared into her hand, both adult fairies watched her face closely, looking for any sign of displeasure or-although it was rare for the young one-anger. But there was none of that. Her lips parted in honest shock, and her eyes appeared to freeze so that they could no longer blink. She stayed like that for a long while, and something like panic started to grip her mother's heart.

"Well? Don't you like it?" asked Eurwen, voicing the question that was running through Rhuel Gohrm's head. Amaryllis was paralysed for a few more seconds before her lips started to move.

"It's...it's a _star" _she whispered, staring in wonder at the gold, five pointed star on the thin silver chain in her palm. The small star-which was about the size of Amaryllis' thumbnail by the time Rhuel had shrunken it-was edged with silver, so that whenever it moved it caught the light and shone, just like a real star. Amaryllis looked up at her mother, the wonder in her eyes still very much there "You got me a _star _for my birthday?"

Rhuel smiled, relieved that she didn't seem to hate it "Well, it's not a real star, but-"

"_You got me a star for my birthday!" _Eurwen laughed merrily as Amaryllis shrieked to the high heavens and launched herself into her mothers arms, hugging her so tight she threatened to cut off her air supply _"Ohmygods I love it thank you so much!"_

"You're welcome, my darling!" Rhuel managed to choke out, squeezing her daughter back. She pulled away, beaming at her mother. Still holding onto her shoulders, Rhuel Gohrm raised an eyebrow, a sly smile meerly hinting at her next, unexpected gift "Perhaps...you can wear it when we go out tonight?"

"When you what?" Eurwen put in, and Rhuel would've eased her confusion had she not been watching Amaryllis gasp in further delight.

"We're going out?!" she squealed "Where? To the human world?" she gasped again, clapping her hands in front of her face "Can we go to Firefly Hill again? _Please?!"_

"Nope" said Rhuel, and Amaryllis' face fell.

"Why not?!"

"Because we're not going to the human world. We're going somewhere that's right here, in Fairyland" Rhuel watched in delight as Amaryllis' delicate little forehead frowned in confusion, trying to work out what she could mean.

"We're not going to Periwinkles again, are we?" she asked wearily "Because she still doesn't like me"

"Well, that's what tends to happen when you break someone's priceless, gypsy-made vase!" Eurwen reminded her. Periwinkle was an old fairy-at least eight thousand years old-and very protective of her possessions, so when her priceless vase had smashed to the ground she had taken an automatic dislike to Rhuel Gohrms daughter, a dislike that Amaryllis had wasted not time in reciprocating.

"It was an accident!" she stated now "She didn't need to go so crazy over it, it was a _vase!"_

"We're not going to Periwinkles!" Rhuel cut across them, gaining back her daughters attention and looking her directly in the eyes, an eager glint in her own "Think about it, sweetie. What do you know for a _fact _is happening tonight, right here in Fairyland?"

A gasp from behind her told Rhuel that Eurwen had worked out what was going on. Fighting off an excited giggle, she waited for it to dawn on Amaryllis.

And, slowly but surely, the young fairy's calculating look smoothed out into one of comprehension, then into one of disbelief, quickly followed by hope, a hope that was fuelled into uncontrollable delight when she saw the way her mother was looking at her, her dark eyes sparkling and her lips spread in a wide grin that showed her neat, polished teeth.

"The Winter Solstice?" she breathed, her voice hoarse with hope. Rhuel nodded.

An ear-splitting scream of excitement exploded from the small fairy, her fists raising and shaking wildly as she jumped up and down with joy, her hair flying in her face while she screamed "Oh my gods!" over and over again.

"The Winter Solstice!" she shrieked, her wings fluttering and making her hover a few inches above the ground "The Winter Solstice! I'm going to the _Winter Solstice!"_

"Yes, you are!" Rhuel laughed, and Amaryllis squealed in delight, hovering up another inch "Now go start getting ready!"

"O.k!" Amaryllis squealed, snapping out her wings and flying through the house, deaf to her mother's call to stop flying in the house!

"Sorry!" she called back "Come up here soon, I need to know what to _wear!"_

"I'll be up in a minuet, sweetheart!" Rhuel called back, sitting back in her seat and basking in the glow created by her daughters excitement. She then noticed the strange way Eurwen was staring at her "What?"

"You know what!" the other fairy hissed, and she did not look happy "Look Rhuel, you know I love Lissy, she's a wonderful girl, but what do you think Raine's going to say when you turn up to the Solstice Ball with your thirteen year old daughter?!"

Rhuel grinned again "Absolutely nothing! She was the one who suggested I bring her!" she watched with some satisfaction as Eurwen's 'What were you thinking?!' expression melted away. She blinked.

"Oh. Right" she said, calm once more and shrugging before lifting her almost empty cup of tea back to her lips "I suppose it pays to be the queen's favourite" she winked.

"Oh, none of that, I'm not her 'Favourite!'" Rhuel said wearily, and Eurwen arched an eyebrow.

"No, because of course all the other servants get to invite their teenage daughters to her ball!" she said, sarcasm thickly layering her voice. Rhuel started to respond but before she could, a high, impatient voice bounced against the kitchen walls from the second floor:

"_Mom! Where _are _you?!"_

"If you'll excuse me, I believe I am being summoned" said Rhuel. Eurwen sniggered, and followed her friends movements as she picked up her wand and stood.

"That's alright, I have to go get ready for the ball myself anyway. I'll see you and Lissy there"

"Alright" Rhuel walked her out of the house, both of the women smiling in amusement when Amaryllis shrieked again. Closing the door, Rhuel headed to the second floor.

"I'm coming, Lissy!" she called as she went "There's no need to shout!"

OUAT

"She was excited, huh?" said Jiminy, humour coating his voice as he imagined the thirteen year old girl, shrieking her head off in excitement at the prospect of attending her first ball.

"Yeah" the Blue Fairy agreed "I had never seen her so excited before, and Amaryllis was never one to hold back on her emotions!"

"Apparently not" Jiminy responded, shifting into a more comfortable position on the candle holder, the candle of which had burned so that almost half had melted away.

The Blue Fairy spoke again "I never regretted taking her to that ball. She behaved like a true lady, and despite everything...I think-no, I _know_-she had the time of her life"

Jiminy tilted his head, intrigued by her choice of words "Despite everything? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it was at that ball that everything started to go wrong..."

_**So? What do we think one chapter in? Please review. Also I'm looking for a beta so anyone who want's the job please PM me.**_

_**By the way, in case anyone's wondering Eurwen is Gaelic for "Pure Gold" because I love the language.**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time does not belong to me. All characters (except for Amaryllis and Queen Raine) and references to the show belong to ABC and Channel 5.**_

Amaryllis: The Story of The Blue Fairy-Chapter 2

_Five hundred years ago, in Fairyland_

Amaryllis' room was typical to that of a normal thirteen year old fairy. The walls were cream in colour and on the one behind her bed was a framed black and white sketch of her as a baby, wrapped in a blanket and staring up with massive eyes at the mother that cradled her. Her bed was simple and made of light wood, the wool-stuffed mattress covered with a soft green blanket and pillow. On the end of the bed there was a chest that had once been filled with Amaryllis' old toys, but was now filled with books about humans who went on great adventures.

At the other end of the room, there was Amaryllis' dressing table. Like her bed it was simple, an oval mirror propped up on the surface of the table with her pink hairbrush, a unicorn ornament, a few green and black hair bands, and now the new necklace and bracelet she'd just gotten. Next to that there was a large, deep red wardrobe, where Amaryllis was buried deep inside, clothes flying out across the wooden floor while she made despairing noises.

Rhuel Gohrm smiled, walking into the teenagers room "Find anything you like?"

"No!" Amaryllis wailed, her head popping out of the wardrobe "Nothing here is _right!"_

"Well, what about this?" Rhuel bent and picked up a long, pink dress that had been thrown to the ground "You'll look cute in this!"

Amaryllis sent her a pitying look "Mom. I don't want to look _cute! _I want to look _pretty!"_

"And you will!" said Rhuel, subconsciously folding the dress and placing it on the bed. Walking over to Amaryllis' wardrobe, she put her wand on the dressing table and helped her search "What about this violet one?"

"No! That one makes me look fat!"

"O.k" Rhuel nodded, reaching into the wardrobe again "What about this one?" Rhuel pulled out a vibrant red dress, the sleeves were long and the skirt was full, stretching down to the wearer's knee's. The younger fairy took the dress and, reminding Rhuel of a certain fairy queen, held it up against herself. She then pushed past her mother and went to stand in front of her mirror. She looked hopeful for a moment, but that quickly fell away. She shook her head.

"It's nice...but I want to be _beautiful!" _she said longingly. Rhuel sighed, coming forward to put her hands on her daughters shoulders:

"Sweetheart, you _are _beautiful! Whether you're wearing a pretty dress or...an old flour sack!" she chuckled, putting a slender finger under Amaryllis' chin and tilting her head up to meet her eyes "In fact, I would say that you're the Fairest of them All"

"You have to say that, you're my _mom" _Amaryllis rolled her eyes, but Rhuel could tell that she was secretly pleased.

With little prompting, she was soon standing in front of the mirror in the red dress, her paper-like wings poking through the two slit's in the back. Her legs were wrapped in black tights, her fingernails tipped red and her hair styled by Rhuel so that part of it was pulled back from her face while the rest of fell around her shoulders, the tied back part threaded with red beads that were similar to the clear one's Rhuel had used on Queen Raine.

For the finishing touch, Rhuel picked up the gold star necklace and lifted the child's hair and put it over her shoulder, threading the chain around her neck and clasping it at the base, the star hanging at the hallow of Amaryllis' neck.

"See?" smiled Rhuel "I told you you were beautiful" looking at her reflection in the mirror, Amaryllis touched the star pendant, feeling the points with her finger. She frowned slightly, as if a sudden thought had occurred to her.

"How do people make wishes on these things?" she asked, and Rhuel hummed questioningly, surprised at the sudden subject change. Amaryllis looked up at her.

"Eurwen told me. Apparently humans make wishes on stars, and then a fairy comes down, and grants it for them. How does _that _work? Do we have really really good hearing or something?" Rhuel chuckled at this, shaking her head. In truth, she herself had never granted a wish, but she had heard enough stories from Eurwen-a dust carrier who was training to be a Fairy Godmother-and the fairy who had cared for her as a little girl about the power of Wish Granting.

"No, no, that's not it at all" she said, and Amaryllis turned around to face her.

"So...how do they do it, then?" she asked. Rhuel looked down at her, and then moved to the bed where she sat on the end. Keeping Amaryllis' eyes focused on her, she folded her hands over her lap, and started to explain:

"The ability to hear wishes is an ability all fairies are born with, Lissy. Whenever a human makes a wish upon a star" she said, reaching out a hand and delicately touching the star around her daughters neck "The Queen, a Fairy Godmother, or another available fairy, feels the wish within them-"

"What does it feel like?" Amaryllis interrupted eagerly, and Rhuel gave her a silencing look before continuing:

"Well, I don't know for sure, but I've heard it's like...a big bang in a fairies heart, but a good one, said to make them feel all...tingly inside, and when the fairy feels it, they see the person making the wish, where they are, and they hear the wish in their ear, and if it's a good wish, then the fairy feels a compulsion to go to them, to either grant their wish...or offer them an alternative"

Amaryllis frowned "What do you mean, an alternative?"

"Well, sometimes a human will make a wish that is of good intentions, but cannot be granted, like sometimes they want to bring a loved one back from the dead" Amaryllis gasped, and Rhuel hummed understandingly "So, the fairy will then offer them an alternative wish, one that could allow them to move on from their loved one's death instead of bringing them back"

"Wow" Amaryllis breathed in wonder. Turning her head, she looked at her mothers wand behind her "Sounds like a difficult job"

"From what I've heard, it is" Rhuel agreed. Amaryllis bit her lip.

"Could...could _I _do it?" the child asked tentively, fingering the star once again "Even though I'm not...you know..."

"Oh _Lissy" _Rhuel sighed, standing up and cupping Amaryllis' chin "Of course you could! Being half pixie doesn't effect your fairy nature at all!"

Amaryllis flicked her paper-like wings.

"Well...not completely" she amended, and Amaryllis, a small, relived grin on her lips, turned around so that she was facing her reflection again, and Rhuel placed her hands on her shoulders "So? Do you think you're ready?" she said, drawing her attention back to the ball.

"M-hm" Amaryllis nodded, but Rhuel noticed the way she was self-consciously fingering the hem of her dress. She frowned.

"Is something wrong? Don't you like it?"

"No, I do!" Amaryllis vigorously nodded, but she was biting her lip again, and when Rhuel gently pushed her to tell her what was wrong, she sighed "It just...feels like it's _missing _something"

"Like what?" asked Rhuel, and Amaryllis splayed out her hands helplessly, starting to look distressed.

"I don't know! Just..._something!" _she said, but when Rhuel looked concerned she brushed her off, going to her wardrobe and picking out shoes "But it's not like it really matters, I still look nice, right?" she beamed a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, looking at a pair of sparkly red shoes.

Moving over to the dressing table, Rhuel pressed a finger to her lips contemplatively, watching Amaryllis try on the slippers. True, she had said she was fine...but then again, it was her birthday...and her first ball...and gods knew Rhuel wanted tonight to be special...and surely it couldn't hurt just this once...?

"Lissy, stand up" Amaryllis groaned at the use of the hated nickname, but complied, her brow furrowed slightly in confusion until Rhuel picked up her wand.

"Mom!" Amaryllis gasped, her eyes as wide as dinner plates as Rhuel raised the shimmering blue device "Are you seri-?!"

"I know that using magic this way is not exactly...celebrated" Rhuel smiled softly, lowering the wand into her hands "But this is a special occasion. Your thirteenth birthday and your first ball, so surely it can't hurt. just this once?" her dark eyes twinkled with daring, turning the wand over in her hands so that it was pointing upwards temptingly. Amaryllis bit her soft lip with nerves. Then, a reluctant smile came forth, and she nodded.

"Alright then!" said Rhuel, and lifted her wand out in front of her "Close your eyes, my dear, this won't hurt at all"

"O.k!" Amaryllis squeezed her eyes shut, and Rhuel then pointed out her wand, flicking it upwards slightly and bringing forth the magic that caused Amaryllis to be encased in a beautiful blue glow, the brightness obscuring her from view.

The glow lasted for about a second before it disappeared, and when Amaryllis was once again revealed to her Rhuel Gorhm smiled proudly. The spell had worked brilliantly, being designed to give whatever Amaryllis' outfit needed to be perfect, and now, instead of just plain red cloth covering her, the fairy child's dress was covered from bottom to top in bright red sequins, the light hitting them making her sparkle like a dwarf mine diamond. The skirt had also been altered, so that instead of being a plain, straightforward pattern that circled her knee's, it was now cut modestly into thick spikes, so that when she moved the sequins on them made her look like an open flame.

Looking at her little girl, Rhuel thought she was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. But would _she _like it?

"How do I look?!" Amaryllis said tensely. Not waiting for an answer, she flew in front of the mirror, hovering so she could see the whole outfit, and Rhuel's fears disappeared the second she heard Amaryllis' gasp of unadulterated delight.

"Oh my Gods!" she laughed happily, her hands covering her wide grinning mouth "I love magic!"

Rhuel chuckled too as her daughter spun around in a circle, the spiked edges flying out and sparkling in the light. After several minuets of this she eventually fluttered back down, her sweet face flushed with happiness.

"So what're you going to wear, Mom?" she asked, and Rhuel felt a faint jolt surprise. She'd been focusing so much on how Amaryllis was going to look she almost forgot that she had to get ready too! And, judging how the streets and clouds outside their cottage-which could bee seen through Amaryllis' rectangle bedroom window-were slowly turning pink, time was definitely going to be thin to the ground. Fortunately, she'd had her outfit planned for a while now.

"Well, there's this beautiful gown I have in teal-"

"Oh, don't wear teal!" Amaryllis whined "Why don't you wear one of your blue dresses? You look beautiful in blue!"

"Maybe, but you forget Amaryllis: _I don't like blue!" _Rhuel reminded her. Yes, her wand might be blue, and her name might mean "The Blue Star" but that did not, by any means, indicate that she _liked _the colour blue. It was something that mystified a great many fairies.

Including her daughter "But...who doesn't like _blue?" _she asked, baffled, as she followed her into her own bedroom. It was similar to her child's except the blanket on her double bed was cream, and instead of having a mirror hanging over her dressing table, there was a full-length one fixed inside her wardrobe.

"I don't" said Rhuel simply, opening her wardrobe.

Amaryllis held a hand out to her, mystified "But...your _wand _is blue, and doesn't your name mean 'The Blue Star?'"

Rhuel sighed, holding an elegant, floor length teal dress in her hands. It was held up by two thin straps, and came with two shoulder length gloves in a lighter shade of the dress colour "Yes, it does. And when I find out whoever named me that I'm going to take great pleasure in cursing them into oblivion!"

Amaryllis gasped, but then burst out laughing. Chuckling with her, Rhuel ushered her out of her bedroom so she could change.

Through the door, Amaryllis called: "Just so you know, Mom, I think blue would really suit you!"

OUAT

As Rhuel, Amaryllis, and every other fairy in Fairyland had been getting ready for the Solstice Ball, the sky had darkened to a deep navy. Small lights flickered in the windows of the cottages that had changed to match the sky's colour, and the streets, roads and pathways, normally so plain during the day, were now glowing as brightly as the stars.

However, no star nor path glowed as brightly as the palace of Queen Raine. Long strings of light had been conjured by the ruler and her servants, and had been draped over the topmost turrets and reached the soft, dark-blue ground. Around the windows and vast doorway, small orbs of white light-so small you could cup them in one hand-had been placed, giving the palace a shine that rivaled the moon pathway to the palace lit up with moonlight.

And there, at the centre of it all, standing in the vast doorway of her home was Queen Raine herself, the beads in her white hair sparkling and her silvery dress shimmering in her homes bright light.

"Wow!" Amaryllis whispered to Rhuel as they flew towards the castle "She looks _so _beautiful!"

Rhuel nodded in agreement, a soft smile on her lips "She truly does"

"Yeah" said Amaryllis. Then, she turned to her mother, a cheeky grin on her face "You'd better not upstage her, Mom, she _is _the queen" she added, and Rhuel swatted at her with a surprised laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous, Amaryllis!"

"I'm not!" she laughed "Honestly Mom, you look really pretty" she added. Rhuel rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the small swell of pride. As well as the teal dress, which made her wings look a beautiful shade of green, she had taken her hair out of it's usual work bun and teased it into tall curls that rested atop her head. Her eyes were shadowed with light green, and she had applied a glittery powder to the edges, on her arms she was wearing the teal gloves that stretched to her shoulders.

"Well...thank-you, Lissy" smiled Rhuel.

"You really wanna thank me? Stop calling me Lissy!"

Chuckling, Rhuel looked up at their surroundings, they were almost to the palace gates-which, of course, were guarded by magic-and finally, she started to feel the tingling excitement that came with attending the dance. Pausing in mid-air for just a moment, she looked down to see Amaryllis looking up at her, her excitement clear on her little face. Reaching down, Rhuel squeezed Amaryllis' hand happily, and they continued on their way.

As her fairies approached-each of them dressed in a beautiful bright ball gown, their wands either held in their hands or in bags that hung over their shoulders-Queen Raine raised two shimmering arms, a proud, welcoming smile on her face as her fairies reached her door, falling silent as the Queen started to speak:

"Welcome fairies!" she called, her voice carrying through the crowd despite her age "As we all know, Winter Solstice is a time of when the balance of nature shifts and night is at it's longest, iIt is a time of change, a time before the dawn of rebirth. It is a night when the magic in this realm is at it's strongest, and tonight it is that of which we celebrate. So I invite you all-old and young-" Rhuel could've sworn that Raine looked over at them when she said that "To share that celebration with me"

The Queen then stepped aside, and slowly the crowd of fairies flew into the grand foyer of the palace, bowing their heads when they passed the queen, and Rhuel, with Amaryllis gripping onto her arm like a limpet, followed them.

"It's alright to be nervous, you know" she whispered as they passed Raine, bowing their heads when they saw her. She winked back.

"I'm not nervous!" Amaryllis scoffed, but she didn't loosen her hold "I just don't want to get lost!"

"Right, of course" nodded Rhuel, gently patting the hand that held her wand against Amaryllis' "How silly of me"

OUAT

"Oh, my _gods!"_

Standing at the top of a magnificent staircase, Amaryllis gasped in wonder at her first sight of Queen Raine's ballroom. The brickwork of the walls were a beautiful cream colour and had large, oval windows that were decorated with thick red curtains which had been parted to allow the moonlight to flood into the room, adding to the light the many candles on tall, black metal holders provided. Above the dance floor, not one, but three beautiful crystal chandeliers hung, and off to the left were small, circular tables that had been draped with shimmering red cloth with copper chairs placed around them. Across the polished wooden floor upon a small platform was a small orchestra, made up of six fairies in glittering black gowns that were playing slow, elegant ballroom music.

Along the wall that wasn't facing the stairs, underneath the large windows, was a long table stretching right across the wall and held a vast assortment of luxurious food: Roast duck that had been filled with stuffing on silver platters, bowls full sweet berries and every kind of nut, plates of Yule Log, potatoes, parsnips, and saffron buns, and copper jugs filled with Eggnog and berry juice scattered next to each delicious duck.

"This...is..._amazing!" _Amaryllis whispered, and Rhuel grinned at the sight of her expression, her massive blue eyes wide with wonder and her mouth open with glee. Rhuel nudged her back to the present and together, they flew down to the dance floor. As they landed, they were met with a few criticising looks from the older fairies, at Amaryllis especially, and some hushed whispers. Although there were some teenagers attending the ball, waltzing with the adult fairies on the dance floor, most of them were aged between fifteen and nineteen, and obviously none were as young as Amaryllis. Rhuel felt her daughter let go of her arm and put a protective hand on her shoulder, but the child seemed to be taking it all into her stride, meeting each stare and whisper with a look of defiance, her chin held high with pride.

"Rhuel! Amaryllis!"

Both fairies looked up at the sound of a familiar voice to see Eurwen flying towards them, looking simply beautiful in her own ball gown. Like her other dresses, it was gold in colour, but the skirt was loose and hung to her ankles, the shining velvet covered by a thin layer of sparkly netting, the sleeveless bodice was the same and was close fitting on her torso but still modest. Like Rhuel, on her arms she wore long gloves, but they were elbow length and the same colour as the dress. Her frizzy hair was tied back in a topknot, and she was wearing a golden choker around her slender neck. On her feet were simple matching heels with a spattering of sparkling stones, and over her shoulder was a small bag where Rhuel could see her wand poking through.

"Wow!" Amaryllis exclaimed, staring widely at Eurwen as she approached "Eurwen...you look fantastic!"

"She's right" remarked Rhuel "Wen, you look beautiful!"

"Why, thank-you" the fairy smiled, a pink tint coming to her dark cheeks. She then gestured with one gloved hand to the fairies in front of her "May I say you also look very beautiful, both of you? In fact..." she looked down at Amaryllis, her eyes focusing on the dress "That dress is divine, Amaryllis, but I don't believe I've ever seen it before..."

"Um..." Amaryllis shifted uncomfortably, fiddling with the edges of her skirt. Rhuel, however, remained quite calm.

"It's one she rarely wears, Wen. We decided to take it out for a spell" she said smoothly. As a fairy, she knew was never supposed to lie, and she wasn't. Not _really. _It was true that, before Rhuel had altered it, Amaryllis had never really worn the red dress before.

Eurwen raised an eyebrow, but before she could comment a young fairy-at least fifteen-with blonde curls and a turquoise dress that was cut to the knees flew over to them. Her name was Cara, and she was a friend of Amaryllis'

"Amaryllis?!" she squealed in delighted surprise "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?!"

"Because I didn't know! Queen Raine only just invited me today!" Amaryllis answered proudly, and Cara gasped.

"Oh my gods, you are so _lucky! _I was only able to get in this year! Do you wanna dance?" she asked suddenly. Amaryllis' face lit up, but was quickly doused as she looked up at her mother.

Rhuel smiled reassuringly "Go on"

"Thanks!" Amaryllis squealed, and Cara grabbed her hands and eagerly pulled her towards the throng of dancing fairies, some of whom were hovering above the polished floor as they moved in an elegant dance.

"Have fun, Lissy!" Rhuel called to her, watching her for a few seconds before turning back to Eurwen, who had a disapproving look on her face. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on-"

"You really shouldn't have done it" lectured the gold covered fairy, pointing her wand at her "Don't bother to hide it, Rhuel Gohrm, I know you cast a spell on that dress! You don't think that's a waste of magic?"

"Not really" Rhuel shrugged "I wanted to make sure she had a perfect night" she said, glancing down at Eurwen's wand "Besides, if you ever get to be a Fairy Godmother I bet you'll be doing something just like this!"

Eurwen scoffed "I doubt it, Rhuel!"

"Of course. Do you want to get something to eat?"

Eurwen looked like she wanted to scold her more, but thankfully chose to let it go and grab a plate of food with her friend. After that time appeared to fly by, and both Rhuel and Amaryllis enjoying chatting, laughing and dancing with their friends into the hours of this exceptionally long night, enjoying the food and drink (despite her begging, Rhuel wouldn't let Amaryllis so much as go near the Eggnog) that had been laid out before them. In fact, Rhuel didn't realise how much of the night had gone by until she was approached by the host herself, three hours later:

"So" said Queen Raine, fluttering up to her on the dance floor as she spun away from Eurwen "How are enjoying the festive's?"

"Oh, my lady, it's all so wonderful!" breathed Rhuel as Queen Raine took her hands and the two began to dance, Rhuel moving off to the side as Queen Raine pulled her forward and then pulling back. She then moved off to the other side as she was pulled in again, and as she pulled back once more their hands pressed together between them, pressing in and out as she spoke "This night...it's the very reason why everyone loves Solstice!"

"And your daughter?" Queen Raine remarked, and Rhuel glanced over to her right, looking over at Amaryllis, who was now dancing with Eurwen and had a bright grin on her face.

"I imagine she's having the time of her life" she said, and Queen Raine laughed at the obvious relief in her voice. The two veered off to the side, keeping their grip on each others hands and spun in a slow circle.

"Well, it is my hope that _all _of my fairies enjoy themselves" she said, and Rhuel nodded in understanding.

"And they do, my lady, I can assure you of that" she said sincerely.

OUAT

"That was the last time anyone ever saw Raine dance" said the Blue Fairy, wiping her watering eyes "She was such a beautiful dancer...such a good person..."

"What happened to her?" Jiminy asked, hopping off the candle holder and onto the table "Did she...?"

The Blue Fairy shook her head, her hand falling back into her lap "No" she said, her eyes getting that faraway look again "Not then..."

OUAT

Later on that night, Rhuel was sitting at one of the red-clothed chairs, her wand on the table next to her and a glass of berry juice in her hand (a choice clearly not taken by some of the other fairies, who were now fluttering around disjointedly while constantly giggling) when a small, out of breath fairy child sat down next to her, strands of brown hair coming loose from her style and her eyes bright.

"Hey Mom!" Amaryllis grinned as she joined her mother, tucking into the plate of Yule Log she'd brought.

"Hey sweetie. I feel like this is the first time I've seen you all night!" she exclaimed and Amaryllis giggled.

"Yeah, sorry" she said through a mouthful of chocolate.

"It's alright" she smiled, leaning towards her a little "So? Has this been a good birthday?"

Amaryllis nodded, swallowing her food "I've been having so much fun, Mom! Everything here is so amazing, the dancing, the music, the _food!_ Cara took me over to the food table, and she let me try some of that Eggnog stuff-"

"She did _what?!" _

Thankfully, Amaryllis was saved from a very stuttered explanation by the sound of clinking against crystal glasses, and the two looked up to see the several fairies who were sat down raising the glasses in the air, gently tapping them with forks and spoons while looking towards the now silent orchestra. When Rhuel and Amaryllis followed their gaze, they saw Queen Raine stood at the orchestra's platform, her silver wings fluttering as she hovered an inch above the ground.

"Good evening, my fairies!" she said, her magnificent voice filling the ball room "I hope you have enjoyed yourself this Solstice night. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and now I must ask you to leave with the hope that you have all enjoyed tonight's celebration, and that you have a wonderful rest of the night" she finished, and a collective, unwilling groan came from all the fairies in attendance, and Amaryllis let out a small, sad sound.

"It's _over?"_ she moaned sadly, but Rhuel didn't answer her, she was too busy staring across the room at the orchestra. Or rather, the fairy stood at the orchestra. Was the late night finally getting to her or...did Queen Raine look _pained?_

"Mom?"

"Rhuel?"

The voices of Amaryllis and Eurwen-who had appeared from the dance floor-brought her attention away from the elder woman. They were both standing and looking down at her curiously. Slowly, Rhuel rose to her feet and picked up her wand.

"Uh, Wen?" she said to Eurwen "Could you walk Amaryllis home for me?"

Eurwen frowned, confused, but nodded "Of course. Why?"

"What's going on?" said Amaryllis, shrugging Eurwen's hand off her shoulder.

"Nothing you need to worry about, sweetheart" Rhuel reassured her "I just need to have a little talk with Queen Raine. I'll be back before you go to sleep, I promise"

"I'm not a little kid, Mom!" said Amaryllis crossly, and Rhuel smiled apologetically.

"No, of course not. Wen, make sure she gets home safe?" she asked her friend, who nodded before leading a reluctant Amaryllis into the crowd of exiting fairies, after which Rhuel spread her wings and flew towards Queen Raine, who had fluttered onto the ground and was now hobbling off the podium, a hand wrapped around her middle while the other held her wand. As she got closer, Rhuel could see the tension in the ancient fairy's face and the beads of sweat on her forehead. The hand holding her wand was shaking, making her unable to perform her magic.

"My lady? Raine?" Rhuel called out with worry as she came forward, dropping her wand and putting her hands on Queen Raine's shoulders to look into her face. The Queen's face was a mask of pain, her brow pinched in some unknowable agony while her lips pressed together, her brown eyes glassy as they looked at Rhuel.

"Oh my gods...Raine!" Rhuel said urgently, gripping her shoulders tighter "What's wrong? What do you need?!"

"R-Rhuel..." her name whispered softly through the queen's quivering lips, but at that moment her face went slack, her eyes closed, and her wand fell from her hand as her body, wrapped in Rhuel's arms, collapsed heavily to the ground.

"Raine? _Raine?!" _Rhuel cried, gently shaking the queen in an attempt to rouse her but to no avail. In desperation, she looked up at the terrified orchestra players.

"Get help! _Now!" _she shouted at them and they scattered, flying through the crowd of horrified fairies that still lingered, Amaryllis and Eurwen amongst them.

"You!" she shouted at a remaining violinist "Pick up my wand!" the violinist hung there, staring at her queen's still form _"Now! Hurry!" _

The violinist jumped violently at her yell, and soon Rhuel had her wand in her hand and was waving it's blue light slowly over the queen. To her immense relief Raine's dark eyes fluttered open, and she weakly looked up at Rhuel.

"Rhu...Rhuel Gohrm?" she whispered, her voice so very weak "W-what happened?"

"We're going to get you help, Raine" said Rhuel, stroking loose strands of white hair off her forehead "Just hold on, help is coming"

OUAT

"Amaryllis saw the whole thing" said the Blue Fairy sadly "She thought she had died that night, everyone did. The way she just collapsed, it was..." she ran a hand through her hair, blowing out a deep breath.

Jiminy didn't say anything, waiting for her to rise. Eventually, her head lifted, and she continued to speak.

"We managed to get her back to her chambers, where one of our doctors took care of her. I wanted to stay with her but, she made me go home with Amaryllis"

"Of course" said Jiminy, and the Blue Fairy's brow creased in confusion "Oh, sorry I..." he stammered "It's just, she sounds like someone who was very...selfless, it's understandable she would do something like that"

"Right" the Blue Fairy nodded "Well, you would be correct. She was very selfless, and smart. She always had a plan for everything, even..." she took another breath, leaning forward slightly and looking towards the ground "Even for what would happen in the event of her death"

_**I'm pretty sure you can all see where this is going. Please review! Also, still looking for a beta. **_


	4. Chapter 3

_**Once Upon a Time does not belong to me. All characters (except for Amaryllis, Queen Raine and Cara) and references to the show belong to ABC and Channel 5. And yes the cover image is an amaryllis. And no, the image is not mine.**_

Amaryllis: The Story of The Blue Fairy-Chapter 3

_Five hundred years ago, in Fairyland_

First thing the next morning, Rhuel got dressed in her brown work dress, tied back her hair, left Amaryllis with Eurwen, and flew to Queen Raine's palace. She had to see her, she had to make sure that she was alright!

"Vera!" she called to another blonde, brown-clothed fairy as she flew into the palace. The slender young woman was sweeping the foyer floor so that little sparkles of dress glitter from the previous nights ball gowns and fairy dust blew everywhere, her sparkling orange wand tied to a thin belt around her waist. She looked up at Rhuel as she asked "How is she?"

Shakily, Vera straightened up, putting the broom to one side as she faced the other fairy, a scared look on her face "I don't know, the doctor's been with her all night" fear surged through Rhuel Gohrm for her queen, a hand coming to cover her mouth "But you should be able to find out, though" Vera continued, gesturing towards the winding stairs "She's been asking for you"

Rhuel's eyes widened slightly in surprise "Really?" she questioned, and Vera nodded.

"Yes. We were told to send you up to her as soon as you arrived. Get going!" she jerked her head towards the spiraling stairs-the cream walls covered with beautiful tapestries, threaded with gold, purple, red, silver and many more rich colours-that led to the second floor, where Queen Raine's chambers resided.

Nodding her thanks, Rhuel turned and started to fly up the stairs, passing statues and portraits of past rulers as she went. Upon reaching Queen Raine's chambers, she gently knocked on the well crafted door, from within, she heard a hard voice that didn't belong to the queen call out to her:

"Who's there?"

"Rhuel Gohrm" she answered "Queen Raine summoned me"

"Well, I'm afraid the queen isn't up to receiving any-" the haughty voice of Queen Raine's doctor was cut off by a gentler murmuring, softer than the first.

"But my lady!" continued the doctor "You are in no fit condition for visitors-"

More murmuring from Queen Raine, this time sounding a little less gentle, like she was commanding, and Rhuel heard the doctor's defeated sigh "Alright...come in! But be quick!"

The queen's Lady in Waiting finally opened the door and immediately flew over to the bed, kneeling at the side of her employer and friend. Rhuel tried to contain her instantaneous panic at the sight of the old woman, normally so strong and wilful, her mere presence oozing unquestionable power, as she now lay exhaustedly in her bed, looking as frail and helpless as a newborn as a plump, severe looking fairy held a damp cloth over her forehead with one hand, and passed her yellow wand over her frame with the other.

Upon seeing her, the queen smiled softly and held out a hand. Rhuel took it immediately, tears spiking her eyes.

"My lady..." she whispered "What happened to you?"

"Oh Rhuel..." Queen Raine sighed in a whisper, her eyes briefly closing and then slowly opening again "My dear, I fear..." she took a long breath, as though the mere act of speaking exhausted her, her grip on the younger fairy's hand slacking. Rhuel looked up at the doctor, panicked.

"Please, what's wrong with her?" she begged. The doctor didn't pause in her wand movements, but her face looked grave.

"I am afraid...the queen is suffering from an terrible illness, _An Deireadh"_ she said the name hauntingly, her face paling as she uttered the name "It is an illness that weakens the body greatly, until it renders the host completely incapable of movement"

"But..." Rhuel looked down at Queen Raine, thinking how active she had been last night before she collapsed, save the incident as they were getting her ready for the ball "She was almost fine yesterday, and it struck her so suddenly-"

"Sometimes it can happen slowly" the doctor explained tensely, as though teaching something to a fairly simple child "And other times, it can strike when the host is completely unawares, starting off as small pains and then..." she gestured to the queen, strewn across the bed, barely moving "This"

A flash of anger went through Rhuel, she glared at the doctor "_Small _pains? There's been nothing small about them, she's been in agony!"

"Then she should've come to me!" the plump fairy snapped back, but Rhuel could see the tears in her eyes. Nevertheless, Rhuel stood up, her wings twitching angrily as she opened her mouth to retort.

But as she did, she felt Raine's hand squeeze her own gently, her soft voice breathing out one word:

"Peace" she whispered, and Rhuel's anger faded, becoming concern "Peace, my dears" the elder woman rolled her head towards her doctor, dislodging the hand on her forehead "Florence, will you...leave us for just...a moment?" she panted, and the doctor's-Florence's-eyebrows shot into her tightly pulled back hair.

"My lady..." she gasped, aghast "I must tend to your illness-"

"Oh, Rhuel can do that" Florence looked up at Rhuel as though she thought that was _very _unlikely. The other fairy stared back at her, hiding the fact that she was thinking something along the same lines.

"Florence, please?" Raine whispered, and the doctor let out a heavy breath, sending Rhuel one more glare before she curtseyed before the queen.

"Of course, My Lady" she straightened up and strode out of the room, taking her wand with her. After she had gone, Rhuel raised her own blue wand and swept it over her friends body, concentrating on removing all of her pain as she looked up at her.

"Rhuel..." she whispered, and the servant looked down at her employer, feeling a terrible pang in her heart at the sight of her pain.

"Yes, My Lady?"

"My friend...this illness...it cannot be cured"

Rhuel's grip tightened on her wand "D-don't say that, Raine. Your doctors can help you, they'll find you a cure and you'll be back on your feet in no-"

"Florence explained it to me, my dear. I am...I will not recover" Rhuel swallowed down the lump that had gathered in her throat, her wand hand starting to shake as it came up to Queen Raine's head "Rhuel, I fear I'm going to-"

"You won't!" she interrupted, adamant. Raine's eyes shone with sympathy.

"Rhuel-"

"Raine, please"

"_Rhuel-"_

"_Don't_-"

"I'm dying, Rhuel. We cannot deny it!" Raine raised her voice slightly, forcing her to listen, and Rhuel took in a shallow, shuddering breath, tears pricking in her dark eyes.

OUAT

"Um, Milady? If-if I might interject?" Jiminy interrupted timidly, and the Blue Fairy stopped, nodding. The cricket wrung his pinchers together.

"Um...I thought that fairies were...immortal?"

The Blue Fairy smiled, softly but oh, so sadly, before shaking her head "No Jiminy, fairies can live a long, long time, but nothing lasts forever" she told him, leaning an elbow against the chairs arm and placing her knuckles against the side of her head "No matter how much we might wish otherwise, everything dies eventually"

OUAT

"You can't die!" Rhuel whimpered, the hand that had found it's way into Queen Raine's tightening around her bones "Y-you can't!"

"It would seem that...fate disagree's with you" Queen Raine chuckled softly, but Rhuel was not in the joking mood.

"My Lady, please, don't joke about this!" she begged, tears rolling down her cheeks "You can't leave. You...you are one of my dearest friends" the queen smiled happily, touched by her sentiment, and stroked a weak thumb across the top of her servants hand. Rhuel swallowed back another, much larger, lump in her throat "And...your people need you!"

"Ah yes...my people..." Queen Raine agreed, forcing her eyes fully opened, focusing on her faithful servant "That is actually what...I wanted to talk...to you about"

Rhuel looked down at her, her wand never stopping above the queen as she gripped her hand ever tighter:

"My darling, once I am gone...the people will need a ruler..."

"Yes, of course" Rhuel nodded, choking back more salty tears, thinking she probably wanted to seek her council on possible choices, most likely one of the Fairy Godmothers...

"They need someone...who is kind and just" said the queen, not taking her eyes off the woman above her "Someone who has enough...compassion and intelligence...to last a thousand lifetimes"

"Yes..." the brown-clothed fairy said quietly, wondering who could possibly be worthy enough to fill such an important position, to take charge of all the fairies in Fairyland and rule with a firm but just hand. What fairy could possibly be capable of that?

"Rhuel Gohrm, my faithful servant...my dearest friend..." wheezed the dying queen, her dark eyes now shining with an ancient intelligence as she spoke her words:

"I have chosen..._you"_

OUAT

"Oh, My, Gods!"

Amaryllis gasped, gently rocking the blanketed newborn fairy baby in her arms who was reaching up to try and catch her dangling star necklace. Due to Doctor Florence being called away to Queen Raine, Eurwen had unexpectedly had to take a shift in the nurseries, a large, pink coloured dome inside an even larger white building in Fairyland that was decorated with pictures of fairies, stars and flowers, white cradles set out in rows across the floor and laden with cushions and blankets, each one with the fairy child's name magically inscribed. In the rest of the building there were rooms for the nurses to sleep in when they were on a night shift.

And of course, Eurwen had to bring Amaryllis with her, even if she hadn't begged and pleaded with everything she had.

"I know" Rhuel moaned. She had come down here to ask Eurwen to look after Amaryllis that night, as she was probably going to be with the queen for a while until she...well. She had told the two of Queen Raine's terrible fate, and of course the two had been horrified, both of them weeping and denying the inevitable. Then, Rhuel had dropped the bombshell of Queen Raine's last request, and they had been stunned into acceptance.

Leaning down on one of the pink cradles, full with another new arrival, Rhuel looked down at the sweet child forlornly, almost wishing she was back in babyhood herself and didn't have to deal with any of this..._this! _With a heavy sigh, she pushed away from the cradle "What was she thinking?"

"Only the gods know, Rhuel" said Eurwen, still looking as stunned as she had when she'd first heard the news and laying down a child in a cradle, wrapped in a soft purple blanket and looking at Rhuel sympathetically "Surely she would pick someone more..." she hesitated, clearly choosing her words carefully "Qualified?"

"Hey!" Amaryllis came forward purposefully before Rhuel could answer "How is my mom not 'Qualified?'" she demanded, sounding insulted as she walked to her mothers side and giving Eurwen a hard look "She's kind, she's compassionate, she's smart, she could be a great ruler! Raine said it herself!"

"Amaryllis! Don't be so rude!" Rhuel scolded, looking at Eurwen apologetically while the child glared at her.

"But she did!" she said heatedly "And she was right, Mom! You're _urk!"_

Rhuel held back a laugh when the baby in her daughters arms finally achieved her goal and grabbed her necklace, pulling her neck down by the chain so their heads nearly collided.

"Hey! Let go!" said Amaryllis, laughing a little as she attempted to gently disentangle the baby's chubby little fingers "Nova! Let go, little girl!"

"Here" said Eurwen with an amused smile, hovering forward with her arms out "Give her to me"

Begrudgingly, Amaryllis handed her over, Nova letting out a wail when she was deprived of her shiny new toy until she was put into her cradle, instantly quieting when she touched the soft cushions.

"So, what're you going to do?" Eurwen turned to Rhuel, bringing the conversation back to it's original point. She shrugged, looking distressed.

"I...I don't know. I either convince her to choose someone else" she sighed, leaning against a small table, her hands braced on it tensely "Or-"

"Or you become the queen like Raine said you should be!" Amaryllis proclaimed, her eyes wide and sparkling with conviction, and both Rhuel and Eurwen groaned softly. Amaryllis ignored them, flying across the floor so that she was eye level with her mother "Just think of it, Mom! You've stood by Raine's side since before I was born, you've seen how she rules the people, you know what to do-"

"Amaryllis-" stared Eurwen, but the little fairy wasn't finished:

"Mom, you heard it from the queen herself, you could be a great ruler!"

"Oh Lissy..." Rhuel sighed, gently putting her hands on Amaryllis' shoulders and lowering her to the ground "It's a lot more complicated than that. No!" she stopped her as she started to speak again "We are not going to discuss it anymore!"

Amaryllis pouted, her head lowering and her arms crossing over her chest. Making a low, apologetic sound, Rhuel stroked a hand over her soft dark hair "Now, I want you to go to Cara's and wait for me there"

Amaryllis' head snapped up, refusal evident in her eyes, but Rhuel was not going to be swayed "Liss, I need to talk to Wen _alone, _so will you please leave us? I won't be long, I promise"

Amaryllis scowled "'Liss?' we're on 'Liss' now?" she moaned, deadpan "Mom, can we please stop with the annoying nicknames?!"

Rhuel grinned "No. Now go to Cara's"

Amaryllis grumbled, clearly not happy about this, but eventually her wings fluttered behind her usual green day dress and she soon fluttered out of the door. Once it was shut, Eurwen started to speak, but Rhuel held her hand up, motioning for her to be quiet when Eurwen looked at her in confusion. Silently, she flew over to the wooden door of the nursery, and quickly yanked the door open to find Amaryllis still there, jerking her ear away from the wood as though it had burned her.

Rhuel crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised and a smug smirk on her lips. Amaryllis looked up at her, her eyes huge from the shock of being caught out.

Still watching her, Rhuel pointed down the plain hallway "Don't you have somewhere to be, my dear?"

"Um..." was Amaryllis' brilliant reply, and they both heard Eurwen's soft laugh from the nursery. The young fairy shot her a glare before nodding to her mother and flying down the corridor "See you, Mom!"

"That girl..." Rhuel shook her head, shutting the door again. She turned to Eurwen, who shrugged.

"She could be worse" she said, and Rhuel laughed, nodding in agreement. Then, she turned serious.

"Wen, what am I going to do about this?" she asked desperately, her original fears rushing back to her "I can't take over from Raine, I'm terrified!"

"I know, dear" Eurwen said with sympathy "It's a lot of responsibility...but maybe Amaryllis is right" Rhuel stared at her "Maybe Raine chose you for a reason"

"Yeah. She's delirious!" she cried furiously, and then instantly felt guilty from talking about her in such a way "Gods...I didn't mean that..." she mumbled, lowering her forehead slightly so her hand could rest on it.

"I know" said Eurwen soothingly, her expression full of pity "You're under a lot of pressure, Rhuel Gohrm"

"Tell me about it" Rhuel mumbled, her hand still pressed up against her face, for a few moments the two stood there in a pregnant silence, then Rhuel sighed, looking into the dark eyes of the gold clothed fairy "I just have to convince her...to choose someone else"

Eurwen nodded, unconsciously twirling her wand between her hands. Rhuel looked down at it. Then up at Eurwen. An idea sparked in her mind.

"Hey, Wen-"

"_No!" _she halted her immediately, and Rhuel looked at her with dark, begging eyes, but Eurwen shook her head "Sorry Rhuel, but my main goal in life is to become a Fairy Godmother, _not _a queen!"

Rhuel groaned, loudly and self-pityingly "Damn you...fine! But can you at least do me one favour?"

"What?"

"Can you look after Lissy tonight?" she asked, their conversation bringing them to the reason why she'd been allowed to come down here in the first place "I've been asked-" _more like demanded, _Rhuel thought "By Raine's doctor to go down to the Infinite Forest tonight to get some Sutherlandia Frutescen plants for a medicine. It won't heal her, but..." she paused, feeling her heart clench at the thought of her queen's approaching demise "They'll help ease her pain without...you know...constantly waving a wand in her face"

"Oh, I wish I could" said Eurwen, sounding like she meant it "But I'm going to be looking after these babies until around midnight" she gestured to the fairy children, the one that had had a pretty impressive grip on Amaryllis' necklace-Nova-now snoozing happily "Why don't you leave her with Cara's carer?" she suggested. Unlike Amaryllis, Cara had been born the same way as the rest of the fairies, with the soul of a dying baby girl turned into a creature of magic, and like them she had been assigned an adoptive mother shortly after her 'Birth'

"I can't. Cara's carer doesn't trust Lissy in her house for more than an hour anymore" said Rhuel regretfully, lifting a hand when Eurwen looked at her, her face a question mark "_Long_ story"

"Right" Eurwen nodded, deciding it would probably be best if she just left this alone. The fairy in front of her released a long sigh, her hands on her hips as she wondered what to do.

"I'll just have to take her with me" she decided, and Eurwen nodded slightly in approval "The plants bloom once every full moon, so it'll have to be at night"

"I don't think you have to worry about that, it's not like she's scared of the dark" commented Eurwen.

"That's not what I mean. Because of her pixie half she can't glow in the human world like we can . Well" she smiled slightly "Not unless she's got some Pixie Dust stashed away!"

"Knowing her? I wouldn't be surprised" both women chuckled, and Rhuel picked up her wand from a nearby changing table and flew towards the exit "I've gotta go back to the palace. Do you mind if I send Lissy back to you on my way?" she asked. Then she opened the door and realised that her question was completely pointless.

Amaryllis was stood in the doorway, trying to look guilty but failing utterly to hide her huge, smug grin.

"No need, Mom!" she said happily, blind to her mother's silent fury "I'm already here!"

Eurwen cracked up laughing while Rhuel groaned, shaking her head at her devious little daughter.

Still grinning, a glint of excitement found it's way into her face "And I can't wait to go to the human world tonight. Thanks!"

OUAT

"She shouldn't have thanked me" the Blue Fairy's head was bowed, her fingers digging into the backs of her hands as she slowly shook her head, her hair starting to fall into her eyes "She shouldn't have come with me. I should've forced Eurwen to take her, I should've got down on my knee's and begged Cara's carer to watch her, I should've-"

"Blue. Stop" Jiminy stopped her, his voice both firm and soothing at the same time, and the Blue Fairy's incessant, desperate babbling immediately halted, but she was still sitting in her chair stiffly, her torso slightly bent forwards.

"Just breathe" the cricket gently directed, and the fairy slowly inhaled "Just take a few deep breaths, and try to calm down. You're in a safe place here, Blue, I promise, just try to stay calm"

The Blue Fairy released her breath, her eyes slowly closing as air repeatedly left her lungs and was brought back in again, and then released once more.

Gradually, she came out of her hunched position, and her fingers came out of her hands. Jiminy could see the deep curves where her blue nails had dug into her skin.

"I-I'm sorry" Blue apologised, and Jiminy shook his head.

"There's no need to apologise, but...if talking about this is going to prove stressful for you, then you can leave and we can continue tomorrow" he informed her, giving her a way out if she wanted.

Blue's eyes flickered as though she was tempted, but then she leaned back into her chair, lifting her hands to rest on the arms.

"No" she said "Thank-you for the offer, Jiminy, but if I leave now, I won't be able to come back. I have to finish this. Tonight"

"I see" said the cricket, hopping back on the handle of the candle holder. The wax of which had now burned to it's halfway point "Then...whenever you're ready"

OUAT

Queen Raine watched Rhuel tend to her sickness, holding a damp cloth on her forehead and waving her wand over her body. She smiled.

"You're good at taking...care of me, my dear" she said softly, and Rhuel smiled back in response "I imagine you'll be...even better when it comes...to taking care of...the people"

"My Lady..." Rhuel sighed, agonized "Please reconsider! There are so many other fairies that would be better for your position than me-"

"And yet I have chosen you" stated Queen Raine, briefly closing her eyes "Perhaps you would like...to know why that is?"

Rhuel paused in her nursing for the briefest instant, surprised. She then nodded, resuming her wand work.

"I chose you because...you are the strongest fairy...I know"

If Rhuel Gohrm had been surprised before, she was now shocked to her very core. Queen Raine, the beloved queen of all fairy's, who had kept her throne for almost ten thousand years, was calling _her, _the Lady in Waiting, the strongest fairy she knew!

"You are a fairy...that has had their heart...broken, my dear" the queen breathed, her brow creasing in sympathy when pain flashed across the face of her friend "Such a thing is...difficult, for any of...us. But you, you managed to...keep yourself together, you...stayed strong when others...turned on you...and you raised a...beautiful child that...adores you, all by yourself. So many in your position...would have turned to...something darker"

"I only kept it together because you helped me" Rhuel said, quietly to hide the tremble in her voice, tears forming in her eyes again she was so touched. The queen grinned.

"And why did you...think that was? I _wanted _you...in my employ, Rhuel Gorhm...because I knew you...would be the perfect...replacement"

"But I _can't _replace you!" Rhuel cried, her voice choked up with emotion. Reaching out a hand, Queen Raine tenderly gripped her wrist, nothing but kindness issuing from that simple touch.

"You will" she whispered "I have faith in you"

OUAT

That night, when the bright full moon had risen in the cloudy sky, Amaryllis and Rhuel wrapped their navy cloaks around their shoulders, slung brown cotton bags on their backs and flew down from Fairyland to the rest of the Enchanted Forest, the light from Rhuel's wand in her right hand enveloping her body in a bright blue glow, giving enough light to illuminate their way to the formidable Infinite Forest. From her neck, Amaryllis' star necklace reflected the light cast by her mother, making it twinkle just like a real star in the sky, and Rhuel smiled at the sight.

"How come you don't wear the bracelet Wen got you?" she asked curiously, noticing her bare wrist as the flaps of her cloak fluttered in the wind. Amaryllis cringed guiltily.

"Well...don't tell Eurwen, but it doesn't quite fit right" she admitted "And I was afraid if I wore it out here, I would loose it!"

"Aah" Rhuel nodded in understanding, casting one more proud glance at her own obviously treasured birthday gift before turning her attention back to their journey, her child looking down at the world below them.

"Wow" Amaryllis smiled widely, flying close to her mother as she looked down at the slumbering human world. The thrill of venturing into the land below the clouds never abating for her "The human world is so beautiful at night!"

Rhuel smiled "I suppose it is" she looked down too, at the soft lights of candles in cottage windows and the grand silhouette of the kingdoms huge palace.

Amaryllis loved it "And the humans get to spend all day here..." she said wistfully, and Rhuel raised an eyebrow.

"Are you jealous?" she asked, laughter colouring her voice.

"No!" Amaryllis scowled at her, and sharply turned her head away. Then, a few moments later "...well, maybe a little"

Rhuel laughed kindly, flying closer to her as they flew past the lights of the village and started coming closer to the dark forests. She took her hand, deaf to her protests.

"So" said Amaryllis after a minute "Did you talk to Raine?"

Rhuel didn't answer her for a second, but then she nodded "Yes I did"

Amaryllis' eyebrows raised slightly "And?"

"She..." Rhuel sighed, feeling a heavy weight on her heart "She won't recondsider. She's adamant that I be the one to take over"

"Oh" Amaryllis nodded, pressing her lips together before timidly turning to the older fairy "Would it...really be so bad?"

"Gods, Lissy I don't know!" Rhuel groaned loudly, reaching her wit's end "Can we please not talk about that?! By the gods, our current queen isn't even dead yet!"

Shocked, Amaryllis immediately fell silent, other than a hushed, obviously ashamed "Sorry"

Rhuel sighed, slowly shaking her head. She squeezed her hand lightly.

"It's alright, sweetheart. Sorry I snapped" she said. Amaryllis didn't look up, but Rhuel saw her smile just a little. She then looked down and realised that they were at their destination. Calling to Amaryllis, they gently flew down into the Infinite Forest.

"Whatever you do, stay in sight" she warned her as they landed "This place plays tricks on the mind, and only those with magic can get out"

"I understand" Amaryllis nodded, clutching Rhuel's hand a little tighter "I promise, I won't wander off"

"Good" Rhuel nodded approvingly, and they flitted a short way around the forest, the sounds of nighttime animals filling the air, to an exposed part of the wood, where the soil was dry, the grass was sparse and there were very few tree's blocking out the moon, so that the Sutherlandia Frutescen were bathed in moonlight. They were red, pod-like plants that grew in leafy clumps, and when Rhuel and Amaryllis flew forwards the elder fairy used her wand to cut some of the stems, shrinking the plants so that their small frames could carry them back.

"Here, take a couple" said Rhuel, putting them in one of the bags that Amaryllis promptly pulled over her shoulder. Rhuel put the rest in the other and positioned that over her shoulder too. She then held her hand out to Amaryllis, feeling the cold night wind tickle her neck "Come on, we'd better get back"

Rather than taking her hand, however, Amaryllis just stared at it, a deep, confused frown on her face as her eyes bored into the appendage:

"Uh, Mom? Are you _growing?" _

"What?" Rhuel looked down at herself, wondering what on earth she was talking about. Then she noticed the way she was steadily, but most definitely, rising off the ground, and she realised that the tickle she felt on her neck had not been the wind. It was magic, and it was making her grow.

"Amaryllis?" Rhuel looked up at her daughter to see that she seemed to be under the same spell, looking down at herself with a mixture of confusion and fear as they grew, taller and taller until they were the size of regular humans, only with wings.

"What the hell's going on?!" Amaryllis cried, her blue eyes wide and frightened, and Rhuel looked down at the glowing wand in her hand that was illuminating them, wondering the exact same thing. It couldn't have been her, she had never cast a growing spell-

"Well, _that's _better!" as if in answer to Amaryllis' question, a deep, mocking voice rang out in the forest "I always prefer it when I can actually _see _who I'm talking to!" Rhuel looked up, holding her wands light out in front of her and trying to find the speaker, but all she could see were black shadows.

"Who are you?!" Rhuel demanded to know, pulling her precious daughter behind her back with her free hand. She clutched to the back of her cloak "Come out! Now!"

"But of course" said the voice, and then...

OUAT

"And then what?" said Jiminy. Right in the middle of her story the Blue Fairy had gasped, her hands clutching her forearms and her face stiff, like she was trying to hold back an internal explosion. The cricket leaned forward on the candle holder, fear for the fairy coiling in his digestive system "Blue, who was there?"

"_Him!" _Blue said, and for the first time in his life, Jiminy Cricket thought the Blue Fairy actually looked angry.

"Who? Who is _Him?" _he asked carefully, and the Blue Fairy's dark eyes-now even darker with anguish-looked up at the living conscience.

"_He_ was the one who took her. _He _was the one who stole her from me! _He _was the one who...He was the one...he was..." Blue gasped again, her right hand releasing her left forearm and pressing against her mouth, her eyes squeezing shut. For a moment, Jiminy remained silent, letting her regain her composure before he gently urged her to continue:

"Who was he, Milady?"

Slowly, the Blue Fairy opened her eyes. Then, she released her mouth, letting it fall into her lap with her other hand, where her wand still rested. She looked at the insect that had once been human, her lip trembling ever so slightly as she met his little black eyes.

"He was the Dark One"

_**Little warning for you, the next chapters gonna take a very dark turn. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter (By the way, I know Sutherlandia Frutescen doesn't actually just grow on a full moon, I put that in to make the plant seem more magic)**_


	5. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time does not belong to me. All characters and references to the show belong to ABC and Channel 5.**_

_**Warning: There is violence in this chapter, but nothing graphic. **_

Amaryllis: The Story of The Blue Fairy Chapter 4

_Five hundred years ago, in the Infinite Forest_

From the shadows of the thick tree's, a tall man in a black cloak stepped forward, his vast hood was obscuring his face, and Rhuel Gohrm could feel the intense dark power oozing from his soul. It felt...cold. Empty. She felt Amaryllis press into her back and covered her arm with her hand in a gesture of comfort. She did not lower her wand.

"Who are you, Sir?" Rhuel asked, keeping her voice steady. Although she could not see his face, she felt the man smile.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure you've heard of me, little fairy" he murmured in that deep voice of his, and Rhuel stiffened when she saw his cloak part to reveal his hands, her breath catching in her throat. Those hands were not the normal fleshy pink or brown, but a strange goldish-grey, with thick, black talons instead of fingernails. These were not the hands of a man!

The beastly hands splayed out to the mans sides, and his hood shifted as he bowed his head.

"I am Zoso. The Dark One"

Rhuel gasped in terror, her hand tightening on Amaryllis so much she thought she might cut off her bloodstream. Zoso. The Dark One. She had heard many a legend of this man, his name whispered in fear among all creatures, magical and not. He was the terror of the Enchanted Forest, rumoured to have no mercy, to abuse his dark power to get and do anything he wanted, and kill anyone and anything that got in his way. Even children.

"So" Zoso chuckled, and Rhuel raised her wand higher as he took a step forwards "_Have _you heard of me, little fairy?"

Rhuel Gohrm was no fool. She knew what would happen to them, happen to Amaryllis, if they stayed with him any longer, and she wasn't about to let anything happen to her child.

"Amaryllis. Fly!" she ordered, and before the child could comprehend what was happening Rhuel pointed her wand at the centre of Zoso's chest and a powerful blue blast exploded from it, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground with a cry.

Not wasting one second, Rhuel grabbed her daughter and she snapped out her wings to fly them out of the forest and away from the Dark One. She tugged on Amaryllis' hand:

"Come on! Fly, _quickly!" _she gasped, one hand lifting her wand to magic them out and the other tightening around Amaryllis'. But instead of her hand, she could only feel her own soft palm _"Amaryllis?!"_

"_Momma!"_

At Amaryllis' choked scream, Rhuel felt intense terror like nothing she'd ever felt before slam into her. She turned around in the air, and what she saw made her stop breathing altogether.

Amaryllis, her baby girl, looking so terrified and in pain as the Dark One tightened his grip on her slim neck, holding her high above the ground. Her small hands clawed at his arm, her wings fluttering madly and her legs kicking. The kicks were getting weaker as Zoso tightened his fingers...

"_No!" _Rhuel cried, pulling her wand forwards again, but with a dark laugh, Zoso turned his hooded head to her:

"I would put that down if I were you" he said, and chuckled as purple magic swarmed around his hand, travelling to Amaryllis' neck and face. She tensed, and then cried out in pain.

"_Mom!"_

"No! _Stop!" _Rhuel begged, tears in her eyes as she was forced to watch her daughters pain.

"The wand" Zoso ordered "Drop it, or she dies!" more purple mist came around his malicious hand, and Amaryllis cried out again, tears leaking from her eyes, and Rhuel felt her heart start to tear.

"Alright!" she cried desperately, and threw the wand at his feet, fluttering down to stand on the ground. Zoso made an approving sound and lifted his free hand over the magical device so that it flew into his palm, where he then plunged it into his cloak.

"So stupid" he sneered "For such a thing to hold so much magic. You loose that, you loose all your power, don't you?" he paused, apparently uncaring for the thirteen year old fairy still dangling from his hand "But my power, my power can never be disposed of so easily..."

"Let her go!" Rhuel yelled, terrified at how much Amaryllis' kicks had weakened. The mother's scream seemed to bring the Dark One away from the wand, and from the way his chin lifted, Rhuel could tell that he was smiling.

"Let her go?" he questioned, as if confused at her request. Rhuel nodded feverently.

"We had a deal! Now let her go!"

Zoso threw back his head and laughed, his hood almost coming off his face as his high, scratching cackle filled the Infinite Forest. The sound sent chills down Rhuel Gohrms spine.

"Oh, but my dear little fairy" he said, his voice falsely sweet "Our deal was that I not kill her!" Rhuel's heart froze in her chest, her eyes locking with Amaryllis'. The bright blue shining with fear and tears "I never said anything, about letting her go!"

The purple mist around Amaryllis' neck and Zoso's hand expanded, circling around her head and travelling to her torso and down her legs. The mist itself thickened into smoke, and Rhuel, powerless without her wand, couldn't do anything to stop it as the mist thickened into smoke, the last thing she heard from her daughter being her terrified sob before the smoke cleared, and revealed nothing but the Dark One's empty hand.

Amaryllis was gone.

"No! _NO!" _Rhuel screamed hysterically, her stomach feeling like it was full of lead and her legs full of air. She heard the bastard laugh again, and a new kind of emotion took her.

Anger. Pure, undiluted anger. She literally flew at the Dark One, punching and clawing every inch of him she could reach before he knocked her back with one quick blow of his hand. Rhuel fell back on the ground, her cloak falling around her and her right cheek throbbing. She spat blood.

"Now _that" _sneered the Dark One "Was rude"

"Where is she?" Rhuel panted, scrambling to her feet "What have you done to my daughter?" a spike of fear entered her heart "...Did you kill her?!"

"Now, why would I do that?" the demonic man asked innocently "All I wanted to do was come and talk to _you_, my dear"

Fear slammed into the fairy, her voice shook as she fought not to show it "Me? _Why?"_

The Dark One lifted his hands to the base of his hood, curving the material as he lifted the black cloth from his head and revealing his face to her for the first time, and Rhuel had to force herself not to cringe in revulsion at the sight. This monster was the very definition of Ugly, the skin of his head and thin neck the same grey-gold shade as his hands, and rife with wrinkles. On top of his small head his thinning hair was sparse, fluffing around his balding scalp and behind his large ears. His face would probably have been hideous to look at even without the abnormal skin tone, his small amber eyes, plum-like nose and thin lips looking like they'd been crammed into the centre of his head. When his lips split apart in a feral grin, Rhuel fought another impulse to cringe at the sight of his sharp, molding yellow teeth.

"To put it simply" he said to her "I want to make a deal. With you" he took a step forward, and Rhuel noticed that even with the growth he had forced on her she was still smaller than him. He gazed down at her, a terrible look on his face.

Rhuel stood as straight as she could, forcing herself to meet his unearthly amber eyes "What do you want from me?"

The grin grew wider, showing more of his atrocious teeth, and when he leaned forward so that his mouth was right next to her ear, his clammy hand cupping one of her shoulders, Rhuel held herself ridged, revulsion swirling in her stomach and fear stabbing her heart.

"I want..."

OUAT

"What did he want?"

It had happened again. The Blue Fairy has seized up, her face tight and her small hands clenched into fists, and the cricket started to feel panicked at the sight of her. Could fairies suffer from aneurysms?

"Blue? It's alright" he tried to soothe her "You're alright, Blue. Whatever happened to you is in the past, and it can't hurt you now" far from being reassured, the Blue Fairy seemed to tense up even more, her hands starting to shake "Blue, you're in a safe place here, I promise!" he assured her, and for a spilt second he wished he was human again so he could offer her some proper comfort, a kind hand, maybe a hug, something to comfort her properly "Breathe, Blue, just breathe it out"

Upon his command, the Blue Fairy released a deep, shaking breath, the act apparently calming her, but her fists remained clenched.

"What did he want, Blue?" Jiminy asked, wondering if he should even ask but remembering that she had not wanted to stop "Zoso, what did he want?"

With quivering lips, the Blue Fairy, ruler of all fairies and famed bringer of light in a world of darkness, answered his question, and when the words reached his ear embedded knee's, he felt sure that the shock, the pure horror of it, was going to tear his little heart in half:

"He wanted _me"_

OUAT

As Zoso withdrew from Rhuel Gohrm, he grinned in twisted delight at her expression of utmost horror and disgust, her whole body was shaking, and she fought the urge to vomit.

"Y-you..." she stammered, trying and failing to keep her voice steady "You w-want..._me?" _she whispered the last word, and another low sound of dark amusement escaped the Dark Ones lips.

"Yes, my dear little fairy. In exchange for your daughter, and your wand, I want _you" _he leaned his head forward, and Rhuel grimaced when his foul breath washed over her "For one night"

"W-why?" she whimpered. She couldn't help it. The thought of having...and with someone as foul...as twisted...as disgusting as _him..._it turned her stomach, it made her want to scream.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked in a whisper.

The Dark One grinned widely, his teeth almost coming apart with the strength of it. Reaching out, he dragged his black nails down the length of the fairy's cloak covered arm, chuckling when she flinched.

"Well, I would say that it is because you are so, very pretty" he leered, and Rhuel felt herself pale "But, truthfully, my dear little fairy, I'm doing this...because I _can!"_

Rhuel gasped in horror, her eyes darkening with a sudden rage "You sick son of a-"

"You're daughter is waiting, little fairy" the Dark One reminded her, halting Rhuel's words instantly "She is locked up, scared, alone, and waiting for her mother to come for her" he added, sounding as if he actually cared. He leaned closer to her, his hand finally falling from her arm, and his lips pulled up into a mocking sneer "Do you want her to be waiting to be saved, little fairy, or do you want her to be waiting to be slaughtered?"

"No!" Rhuel gasped, and the Dark One's face lit up in triumph. He pulled away from her, his cloak falling back around to envelop his tall frame.

"Then...what is your answer?"

Unable to help it, Rhuel Gorhm released a small sob, but she forced herself to keep the tears back. She would not cry in front of him, not for one moment. No-one could help her, her wand was gone, and she was completely powerless.

But she would not cry, even now as she realised that she was helpless, and that she had no choice...

OUAT

"I had no choice" she repeated, and Jiminy was too wrapped in horror to respond. The Blue Fairy had recovered her composure and was now speaking affirmatively, her voice guarded as though she was daring the living conscience to judge her "He had my daughter, and she was my _everything" _ her voice shook, betraying the slightest hint of emotion_ "_I couldn't let him hurt her!"

"So you agreed..." it wasn't a question, and Jiminy gasped when the Blue Fairy nodded, her face expressionless and stony. Guarded.

As she continued to speak, her voice was steady, but carried the smallest hint of darkness she allowed herself to show:

"He took me to his castle in the Southlands" her left hand trailed up to the right hand ties of her blue arm cover, loosening them as she spoke "I'll spare you the details of that night, but I will tell you that it was one of the worst of my life" she paused, forcing herself to keep control of her emotions as she undid the knots of her garment "And as much as I may wish it differently, the Dark One made sure that I would never forget it" pain crossing her features, she pulled the arm-cover off and held out her limb, and Jiminy had to clutch the metal of the candle holder so as not to fall back in horror.

"By all the Gods!"

On the inside of the Blue Fairy's arm, where the soft, pale skin was, there were four deep gouges in her flesh. Thick, jagged and pink from where they had healed and scarred over time. The terrible scars were long, stretching from just below her shoulder to the base of her hand, where her fingers were still clenched.

Jiminy hopped off the candle holder again, knowing it was terrible but unable to take his eyes off the scars "C-can't you remove-?"

"They were made with the darkest of magic's" the Blue Fairy told him, her voice surprisingly gentle now "I can't get rid of them, no fairy can"

"My Gods..." Jiminy stared at the Blue Fairy as she fixed the arm-cover back on, hiding the scars once more. His mind was going into overdrive over what she'd just told him "I am..._so _sorry you had to go through that!" he said, with all the sincerity he had in him. For the first time in what felt like hours, the Blue Fairy graced him with a gentle smile.

"It happened five hundred years ago, my dear Jiminy. I have long since made my peace with it" the smile faded, and she became tense once more "But what happened next" she said sadly, and Jiminy hopped back onto the candle holder. The candle had now melted so that little more than a third remained.

"That will haunt me until the day I die" she whispered, and for the first time that night, Jiminy Cricket saw a single tear fall from her eye and trail a thin line of moisture down her cheek.

OUAT

The next morning, the Dark One transported himself and Rhuel back to the Infinite Forest, it was even the same spot, now bathed in daylight.

Rhuel barely even noticed though. She kept her eyes to the ground, refusing to let herself concentrate on anything except Amaryllis, forcing her mind to think of nothing else except her, ignoring the burning sensation in her arms...

"We had a deal" she said in monotone, not looking up at the monster beside her "Where is my daughter?"

"You're so impatient..." the Dark One tutted, and Rhuel finally lifted her gaze to pierce him with a look that would've quelled the fiercest Ogre. Although his hood was covering his head again, Rhuel saw him grin.

"My my, little fairy, that look, it's almost enough to make me nervous!" he leaned forward, and she sharply turned her head away as he hissed "I like that!"

Her fists clenched.

"My daughter. Now!" she demanded, staring at a spot on the ground. Zoso sighed.

"If you insist" he said, and Rhuel looked up again when he raised a glowing purple hand, and the area in front of them suddenly became swamped with purple smoke.

"Amaryllis..." Rhuel whispered, already feeling more lighter than she had done in hours, even as she listened to Amaryllis' quiet sobs from inside the smoke. When it cleared, it revealed the teenage fairy, still human sized like Rhuel and still clothed in her green dress and navy cloak. Her face was pale from lack of sleep, tear tracks marked her cheeks, and her wings and hair were covered with dust, but she appeared to be unharmed.

She was alive. She was O.k.

"Amaryllis" Rhuel called to her, and her child looked up, her face a picture of disbelief when she saw who was standing there.

"M-Momma?" she whispered, tears collecting in her eyes.

Rhuel nodded, starting to smile, and when Amaryllis let out a sob she ran to her, ignoring the pain in her arms as she collapsed around her daughter, clinging to her small frame the same time Amaryllis clung to hers and vowing to never, _never, _let her go again.

"Oh, thank the Gods you're alright!" she murmured in her hair, pressing a kiss to her scalp. Amaryllis whimpered, nodding against her chest, her tears soaking through the fabric of Rhuel's brown dress.

"Come on" she said, rising to her feet and pulling Amaryllis with her "We're going h-"

But she never got to finish that sentence, because at that moment...at that moment...

OUAT

The Blue Fairy was sobbing, not crying, but _sobbing, _her hands covering her mouth and wrapping around her waist as wracking sobs forced their way through her small body, the skin of her face was pink with emotion, and so many tears fell from her eyes and into her lap, dripping onto her wand.

"_It was all my fault!" _was all she got out before her emotions claimed her again, both of her hands coming to cover her face and her elbows pressing into her thighs "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry!" her muffled voice came through her fingers, but it was unclear who she was apologising to. The cricket, or Amaryllis.

In the sixty years that he had been a conscience, Jiminy had always known what to do. When someone started to close up, he knew how to gently prompt them into telling him more, when they insulted him, he knew not to rise, and when they flew into a rage, he knew how to calm them down.

But now, here he was, watching the most powerful woman in the Enchanted Forest sob her heart out, completely at a loss over what to do.

So he waited.

He didn't speak a word as the Blue Fairy cried, wailed, and apologised over and over again, her sobs tapering off into sniffles, which eventually became whimpers, which eventually became slow, calm breaths. She lowered her hands, wiping them uncaringly on her skirt before she lifted her wand and conjured a periwinkle handkerchief, which she then used to wipe her face. Crumpling the material in her hand she bent her neck down to stare at her lap, her hands curled on her legs, her breathing still jerky with tears.

"It was my fault" she said again, one last tear coming from her brown eye "It was my fault..."

Jiminy forced himself to speak "Do...Do you wish to continue?" he asked nervously.

And of course, the Blue Fairy nodded.

"But I must warn you, Jiminy, you won't like where this tale goes" she sniffed, her fingers clenching a little tighter "Not everyone's story has a happy ending..."

OUAT

At that moment, a blasting sound filled the air, and Rhuel and Amaryllis' hands were wrenched apart as each fell into opposite corners of the clearing. Rhuel slammed into a tree, and before she could stand the branches bent down and wrapped around her wrists and waist in an impossible grip, making her cry out and pulling her back so tightly against the trunk that she could barely breathe.

Amaryllis, strewn about on her stomach on the forest floor, looked up at her in terror.

As she struggled against her bindings Rhuel heard Zoso's dark chuckle, and she momentarily turned away to see that the Dark One had removed his hood, and that the wide grin she had seen so many times last night was back on his face. A grin he turned, to Amaryllis.

"W-what the hell are you doing?!" yelled Rhuel Gohrm, fear like nothing she had ever felt consuming her as the Dark One started to walk to Amaryllis with long, smooth strides "No! _Leave her alone!" _

The Dark One paid her no heed, and Amaryllis, almost paralysed with fear, turned on her back and tried to scramble away, watching him with wide, scared eyes as he came closer and closer.

"Mom..." she pleaded in a trembling voice.

Nearly sobbing with frustration, Rhuel worked at her bindings, screaming for Amaryllis to run, to hide, but when she attempted to follow her commands, the Dark One pinned her down flat on the ground with one lazy flick of his wrist.

"_Leave her alone!" _Rhuel screamed again, and still she was ignored. His grin turning into an evil smirk, Zoso lifted his hand, and with a sheen of purple mist surrounding her, Amaryllis was pulled up into a standing position, her whole body shaking with fear and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"P-please...Don't!" the child begged, and Rhuel screamed when Zoso started to reach out towards her chest:

"_You bastard!" _she roared, throwing herself forward and pulling on her wrists so hard she almost broke the skin, ignoring the pain as the branches dug into her cuts. But still they would not break "_We had a deal! You said you'd let her go! YOU PROMISED!"_

At that, Zoso paused, and Rhuel panted a sigh of relief when his hand stopped just short of Amaryllis' chest.

Then, he turned to her. He grinned.

"My dear little fairy" he said smugly, raising an eyebrow "Do I really look like a man of my word?"

And he plunged his hand into Amaryllis' chest. The little girl gasping in pain.

"_NO!" _Rhuel screamed, feeling her heart break as Amaryllis screamed in pain. Zoso laughed at her, his hand withdrawing from her chest and holding her glowing, beating heart between his fingers.

Amaryllis stared at the heart, horrified.

"NO!" roared Rhuel, and she started kicking the tree that held her bound "GIVE IT BACK TO HER!"

"No" responded the Dark One, and both Rhuel and Amaryllis started to scream when he started to squeeze...

OUAT

"I...I don't really remember much of what happened after that" the Blue Fairy confessed, her voice trembling "I j-just remember n-not...Not being able to get free...Not being able to...To save her" her voice started to break, her breathing growing heavier "H-he...I...I couldn't..."

"It's O.k, Blue" said Jiminy, his calm voice contrary to the way his heart was hammering in his chest "Just tell me what you remember"

The Blue Fairy nodded, whispering softly "O.k"

OUAT

She wasn't moving. Why wasn't she moving?

Why was she just lying there? She could have been asleep, but her eyes were wide open. Maybe she was just being silly, like she sometimes was around the cottage, and then she would get up and shrug like she had done nothing out of the ordinary, like she always did.

She had to get up eventually, Rhuel was screaming loudly enough!

"_...she can't hear you..." _who was that? The Dark One. What was he talking about? How could she _not _hear her? She was being as loud as she could.

Her screams and begs were cut off when the branches finally released her and she collapsed to the ground. She didn't notice the pain though, she just scrambled over to Amaryllis, pulling her little frame into her arms and her lap, stroking her hair back from her pale forehead and kissing her repeatedly. Her skin was still warm.

"_...such a pity..." _she barely heard Zoso sneer, she was too focused on getting her daughter to wake up. She had to _wake up! "...she was so young..." _she ignored him, trying to get her child to awaken.

_Wake up, _she thought, _Lissy, please, wake up!_

"_...it doesn't matter how much you scream, little fairy. She won't wake..." _oh, had she been saying that out loud?

"Amaryllis..." she heard herself say, shaking her to try and rouse her, but all she did was stare up with eyes that could no longer see "Wake up, baby _please, _wake up!"

Distantly, she felt something land on her cloak, something small. Her wand? She didn't take much notice of it.

"It's not like I truly need it, anyway" she heard Zoso sneer, and with a cloud of purple smoke the Dark One was gone.

Rhuel Gohrm didn't care, the dark truth of reality starting to settle in on her. Tears dripped down her face and onto Amaryllis' cheeks as she started to sob, burying her face into her daughters hair and clutching her body to her chest.

Her body. Amaryllis' body.

Her beautiful girl, her laughing, mischievous, passionate girl, was gone.

She was dead.

"_NOOOOO!" _Rhuel threw back her head and screamed, her broken voice reaching every crevice of the Infinite Forest, tears ran down her face and soaked into her clothes _"NOOOOO!"_

She stayed there for hours, crying, screaming, begging her to come back, promising anything if she would just _come back!_

But of course, she never would.

OUAT

If Jiminy could cry, he would have. The empathy he felt for the Blue Fairy, for Amaryllis...it threatened to consume him.

"Eventually" the Blue Fairy continued, her voice reaching a low tenor "I got up, I picked up my wand and I...Turned us back to fairy size" she looked up, her eyes shining and the breath she took shuddering "I...Brought her body back to Fairyland. I sort of forgot about the plants on the way" she laughed, but it was jerky and filled with sorrow, and it made Jiminy want to weep all the more.

"Everyone was horrified when they heard about...What happened. Wen wanted to...To go and face the Dark One herself, but fairies are forbidden to use their magic to kill" she said the last part with a hint of bitterness, as if she resented that particular law.

"Raine was very kind to me, consoled me" she breathed a sorrowful breath "Then three days later she died, but not before she insisted that...That her _funeral" _her voice choked on the word, but she refused to desist "Coincide with Amaryllis'. She said that...That a girl like that deserved a Queen's send-off!" tears stared to fall from her eyes yet again, her lips trembling as she spoke.

"Blue..." Jiminy hesitated when she looked at him. He didn't really know what to say "I...I am so sorry..."

The Blue Fairy shook her head "Thank-you but, you don't need to be sorry" she told him "You just have to let me finish"

Jiminy felt a flicker of surprise "There's more?"

The Blue Fairy nodded "Yes Jiminy, there's more"

_**This was the most difficult thing I have ever had to write in my life, I nearly cried while going over it. I'm definitely going to Hell for this.**_

_**There's only one more chapter of this now. Please review.**_


	6. Epilogue

_**Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time does not belong to me. All characters (except for Queen Raine and Cara) and references to the show belong to ABC and Channel 5**_

Amaryllis: The Story of The Blue Fairy-Epilogue

_Five hundred years ago, in Fairyland_

The funeral procession for Queen Raine and Amaryllis took place three nights after the queen had passed on, and that night, outside of her Majesty's palace every fairy in Fairyland had gathered into the star-lit courtyard, all of them standing in front of two flat, white marble alters that were set at the foot of the palace stairs, and all were dressed from head to toe in a mournful black.

Resting on these two alters were the bodies of Queen Raine and Amaryllis, laid down with the utmost care and wrapped entirely in shrouds of the smoothest silk, Queen Raine's was silver, and Amaryllis' a light green. Next to the alters were two large, flaming torches, held up by two metal pole holders and their flames illuminating the full courtyard.

Throughout the crowd, everyone, adults, children, young and incredibly old were crying. All of Queen Raine's subjects crying for her passing, and all who had loved Amaryllis crying for her murder. Eurwen was there, weeping into a white handkerchief and being comforted by her mentor. Cara was there, sobbing into her mothers shoulder and wailing for the loss of her friend.

"It's not fair! It's not _fair!" _she wept, and Cara's mother agreed, tears filling in her eyes.

Yes, everyone was there, in the courtyard to mourn the two losses, all of them so busy weeping and trying to comfort each other. Then, as though out of nowhere, a bright blue glow started to stream into the courtyard, enveloping everyone and everything in it's bright blue light.

Curiously, each fairy turned to see what was creating such a wondrous light, and when their eyes fell upon the source, eyes widened, jaws dropped, and shocked gasps were breathed from flabbergasted lips.

Fluttering down the isle, holding her glowing wand in her right hand, was Rhuel Gohrm.

All the black clothed fairies stared at her in mixed expressions of wonder and bewilderment as she elegantly flew down the isle. Unlike them she was not wearing one stitch of black, not one stocking, not one shoe, not even one hair adornment was the deep traditional colour of mourning. Instead, her dress, her shoes, even the arm covers she wore to hide the dreadful scars Zoso had inflicted, were coloured in a bright shade that none of them ever thought they would see her wear:

Blue.

Bright, bedazzling blue.

All eyes remained on her as she flew up to the alters. When she landed in front of the covered body of Queen Raine, she bent her back and neck in a graceful bow, murmuring words of farewell to her queen.

"Goodbye, my friend" she whispered, and when she straightened back up, all held their breath as she went over to the body of her daughter.

For a few moments, she did nothing but simply stare at Amaryllis' green wrapped form, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Then, slowly, she leaned forward, placed both hands gently on the sides of her shroud covered head, and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I love you, Lissy" she murmured tearfully.

Then she turned around, facing the fairies that were staring at her with looks of sorrow and shock at her attire . She stepped to the side until she was stood between the two alters, her back straight, her hands holding her wand at her pelvis, and she looked at the awaiting fairies in a way that was almost regal before speaking:

"A terrible tragedy has befallen Fairyland" she said, her voice carrying just as clearly to the mourners as Queen Raine's had "Our beloved Queen, a kind, wise, and benevolent leader, who treated all with the utmost respect and grace, was cruelly ripped away from us, and while we all know that her kind soul has found it's way to a better place than this world, her loss is a great one to this land, and one I know that each of us will mourn with all our hearts"

A few sobs and soft wails confirmed her statement. Rhuel could feel her own heart clenching as she went on to continue, her heart barely able to beat from the pain:

"But alas, our queen's is not the...The only loss" she faltered, her throat threatening to close up on her, but she controlled it, determined to get through this, to finish this. To be able to say Goodbye "That we have experienced this week. A child of Fairyland was lost, a child who had great love in her heart, for her friends" from within the crowd, she could hear Cara's sobs and see Eurwen's hand press her handkerchief into her face, her shoulders shaking "And for her...For her family" her voice choked on the last word, but she forced her voice to stay steady. She wasn't finished. Not yet.

"This child, my sweet Amaryllis, was stolen from us before her time. Stolen by a terrible force of darkness that knows no bounds, nor of any love" she paused as anger seeped into her voice, and heard a fearful murmur ripple through the crowd of fairies. She continued:

"As you all know, it was the duty of Queen Raine to protect this world, and the world below us from darkness, and it was a duty she prevailed in for ten thousand years" she took a deep breath. It was time..."And now, she has passed that duty on to me...And I have accepted"

At her admission, there were clear gasps of shock and some cries of outrage, most from the elder fairies and Fairy Godmother's, and Rhuel felt panic twist in her stomach. If she was going to do this, then she needed them to accept her as their leader. If she was going to rule, then she had to earn their trust. She took a step forward, speaking again:

"I cannot promise that I will be as good a ruler as Queen Raine" she admitted as the crowd fell silent, conviction layering her voice, making her sound more powerful "But I can promise you this: Should you choose to accept me as your new leader, then I swear, for as long as I live and breathe I will never, not for one moment, allow good to fall. I swear that everything that I do will be in the name of bringing light to the darkness, and I will do this with the same philosophy as Queen Raine. With a wise mind, a just hand, and an open heart. This, as my last gift to my daughter" she raised her wand, it's light glowing brighter than ever before "I _vow"_

She lowered her wand and bowed her head, waiting for the rejections, the objections, the demands that she be taken down from the alter and banished. But none came, and when she looked up she saw that each and every fairy who was stood before her was staring at her, looking stunned and awed by what she had said.

And then, it happened.

One by one, each fairy, young and old, friend and acquaintance, bent their knee's and bowed their heads.

They were bowing. To _her._

"All hail the Queen!" came a call from the back, and Rhuel immediately recognised it as Eurwen's voice. The others were quick to straighten up and follow suit:

"_All hail Queen Rhuel!" _they proclaimed in harmony _"All hail Queen Rhuel!"_

"No!" Rhuel raised her hands to stop them, and they were immediately silent with confusion.

She lowered her hands, placing them at her sides and gripping her wand. She kept her eyes focused on the people:

"Although I am to be your leader, I would prefer not to be addressed as a queen. Everyone in this land is equal to me, and I do not wish to tarnish that equality with regal titles. Although, I do wish for just one change to my name" she paused, and the crowd, her new crowd of followers, awaited her next words with baited breath:

"From now on you may address me...As the Blue Fairy"

When no-one responded to her statement, she suspected she had gone a step too far, and she had just lost the trust and faith of the fairies she was supposed to lead. But then, as she watched them, every fairy who owned a wand slowly lifted it into the air, raising them high above their heads and all of them glowing as brightly as any star in the sky. Rhuel Gohrm eyes widened as she realised what was happening now.

Slowly but surely, the glow that was wrapped around each wand lifted into the air and stretched into long, thin streams of magical light, their distinctive colours becoming brighter and brighter until they turned into pure white, touching and twisting together until they became one long, bright stream of sparkling light.

As Rhuel watched, the light made it's way across the sky until it reached the alters, and as it passed her, Rhuel lifted her wand and added her own glowing magic to the light, watching the little blue stream pass through until it merged with the other fairies magic.

Once it came to the alters, the stream of light split, one twisting, glittering stream gently touching the top of Queen Raine's shroud, and slowly travelling downwards until she was completely covered in the shimmering, colourful light, the glow intensifying until it was so bright that it could have blinded Rhuel, had the fairy not been looking somewhere else.

Rhuel forced back a sob as she watched the light fold onto Amaryllis, her tiny body getting the same treatment as the queen, the bright light covering every inch of her light green shroud, and Rhuel could not bring herself to look away even when the light started to hurt her eyes. Not until the magic started to pull away.

As she and the rest of the mourning women and children watched, the magical glowing streams pulled away from Amaryllis and Queen Raine, but their bodies were no longer resting on the alters. The magic had taken them, turning them into dust and carrying them with it as the magic elegantly twisted and curved in the air, lifting and travelling up, up, up into the sky, the new queen watching it carry her daughter until it was nothing more than another shining dot in the endless black sky. A new star.

"_Be among the stars forever, my darling" _Rhuel whispered gently _"Goodbye Amaryllis, I love you, my precious girl"_ tears started to form in her eyes again.

And this time, as she collapsed to her knee's and clutched Amaryllis' shroud in her hands, she let them fall.

OUAT

After the funeral, once all was said and done, condolences said and comforting hugs exchanged, the repeated statements that it would "Get better with time" the Blue Fairy retreated back to Queen Raine's castle.

_Well, I suppose it's _my _castle now, _she thought as she stood in front of the bedroom mirror. She checked over her funeral attire, breathing deeply as she ran her hands over her blue clothing, her last tribute to her beloved Amaryllis. She tweaked her arm coverings, making sure they still covered every inch of her scars. The scars that had been inflicted by Zoso.

Not for the first time since Amaryllis' death, the Blue Fairy felt a surge of rage at the Dark One, even more so about the fact that she couldn't do anything about him. She just had to hope that, one day, that bastard got his comeuppance.

"You could have at least told me"

The Blue Fairy jumped violently and spun around to the door, she had been so caught up in her own thoughts and sorrow that she didn't even notice the door behind her opening, nor the fairy that had entered the room.

Or should she say..._Pixie._

The Blue Fairy stared at the figure in front of her, stunned beyond belief. Her mouth dropped open and her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't believe it...Could it be...?

But how..._How?_

Finally, after what felt like months of just _staring_, she managed to whisper one disbelieving word:

"_Puck?"_

OUAT

Jiminy gaped at her, feeling his little cricket jaw drop open "P-Puck?!" he blurted out, astounded "Amaryllis' _father?"_

The Blue Fairy nodded, crossing her legs and raising a hand to her chin "Yes. Puck. He had heard about Amaryllis' death somehow and..." she sighed, her hand sliding upwards to cup her cheek "Well, he wasn't exactly _happy_ with me"

OUAT

It had been thirteen years since she had last seen him, and yet he still looked very much the same. He was tall for a pixie, his body was lean and muscled. He was dressed in a buckled pair of dark brown, tight fitting pants that were tucked into his thick boots, and on his toned chest he was wearing a dirt-coloured velvet waistcoat over his dark green shirt where two strong, paper-like wings poked out of the back. His skin was flawless, and where it had once been a pale white it was now slightly tanned from sun exposure. His long hair was a fiery crimson and tied back into a ponytail that uncovered his pointed ears, and his face was handsome, his red lips full and his chin pointed with strong cheekbones, a faint smattering of freckles laying across his strong nose. His eyes were sapphire blue, the exact same shade of blue Amaryllis' had been, and they were _glaring _at her.

"Puck..." breathed the Blue Fairy, her voice faint from shock "What-"

"Am I doing here?" he finished, his other-world accent thick with suppressed anger. He took a step towards her "Your friend Eurwen got a message to me in my world. She's told me everything,Rhuel!" he informed her, and she sighed, glancing downwards guiltily.

"You mean she told you about...Her?" she asked, and when Puck nodded she briefly closed her eyes in irritation "Gods...Why would she do that?" she muttered, more to herself than to him.

Puck shrugged exaggeratedly "I don't know, Rhuel! Apparently she felt that I needed to know!" he moved closer, and the Blue Fairy nearly flinched when he was towering over her, his face tight with confused anger "How could you not tell me you were-"

"No!" the Blue Fairy shoved a finger in his face, her own anger starting to show "You do _not_ get to come back after all these years and do this to me, Puck! _Not _today!"

"We had a daughter!" he yelled back at her, and the Blue Fairy felt something inside her start to break "A _child! _Gods, Rhuel, how could you not even tell me?"

"Because you were _gone! Remember?!"_ she screamed at him, and Puck jumped away from her, surprised "You were in another _world, _Puck! How could I have told you anything?! I didn't even know that I was pregnant-" a hand instinctively travelled to her stomach "Until two months after you left me!" she was getting that clenching feeling in her heart again, the hand on her stomach softly caressing the cloth that covered her skin as though she wished Amaryllis was still in there. But she wasn't, she was outside, turned into a star by fairy magic...

"What does it matter, anyway?" she snarled at Puck, and his angry appearance started to soften when he saw the tears in her eyes "She-she's gone now!" against her will, tears started to pour down the Blue Fairy's gentle face, her face flushing "She's gone, and she's not coming back!" a hand pressed to her face, she attempted to stem the wave of emotion that was trying to break her, and Puck watched her, silent.

"I...I'm sorry..." he said after a while, sounding regretful. When she had managed to calm herself down, the Blue Fairy glared at him, and he splayed his hands out helplessly before letting them fall to his sides "It's just...Gods, Rhuel, it's bad enough when you find out you have a kid...It's even worse when you find out that-"

"She was murdered?" she finished for him, her voice hard. Puck flinched, but nodded.

"Yeah"

"Well, just imagine how I feel" the Blue Fairy said darkly, and turned away from him.

She heard him sigh. Then his footsteps as he walked towards her. She tensed when she felt his hands on her shoulders, her skin automatically tingling at his warm touch.

"I'm sorry" he murmured, and she fought the urge to lean into him, to feel the familiar comfort of his arms wrapped around her "I'm so sorry, Rhuel..."

She shrugged him off, walking across the room and picking up her wand from the bed. She turned back to him, looking down at the device as she spoke.

"It's...Alright" she said to Puck, forcing herself to look up at him "And it's, uh, the Blue Fairy now, if you don't mind"

His lip twitched "The Blue Fairy?" he said with some amusement "Seriously, my love?"

The Blue Fairy winced, the old endearment making something flutter in her heart that had been buried for thirteen years. She forced the feeling down, her fingers tightening on her wand.

"Don't call me that" she said stiffly "We haven't seen each other for thirteen years. Things have...Changed now" she told him, and something akin to hurt flitted across the pixie's face. Then he shook his head.

"No, they haven't" he said, and he stepped towards her again, putting his hands on the sides of her shoulders and forcing her to look at him, right in the eyes "Not for me, anyway" the Blue Fairy didn't answer that. Nervously, Puck licked his lips.

"Listen, I...I want to stay" he told her, and the fairy felt something tug at her heartstrings as he brushed a stray strand of hair off of her forehead "I want to help you get through this-"

"No" Puck froze, obviously surprised at her blunt response "I'm sorry, Puck, but you can't stay here"

He frowned "Why not?"

_Because you remind me of her, because you have her eyes, because love hurts..._

"Because I have a very important part to play here, now" she said, her voice softer, silently begging him to understand "And I can't afford any distractions-"

"Distractions?" Puck repeated accusingly, like he had caught her out, and the Blue Fairy flinched away when he lifted a hand to cup her face, looking at her pleadingly "Rhuel, you need help coping with this-"

"And I have help!" she pulled her face out of his grasp, stepping away until she was a few feet away from him and almost up against the wall "I have my friends, I have my people..." she lifted her head to meet his incredibly blue eyes, Gods, they looked so much like _hers..._She swallowed before she spoke again "I don't need you"

"Rhuel-"

"I am the Blue Fairy now!" she cut across him, her voice trembling the slightest bit, her whole body rigid, her wings-now a beautiful blue due to her clothing-fluttering tensely on her back "I've _changed, _Puck! I'm not the woman I once was. I don't need your love" she finished, trying to convince herself as much as she was him, and she tried to ignore the ache it caused in her heart when she saw that it was working.

Puck looked like he was barely keeping his own anger at bay. His fists were clenched, and he was looking at her like he didn't even recognise her anymore. The Blue Fairy sighed:

"Go back to your world, Puck" she said softly "You'll do more good there, than here"

With a hard stare at her, the pixie strode to the door, pausing only to look back at the Blue Fairy one last time:

"I know I didn't even meet her, Rhuel, but if she was anything like you, or like me, then she would not have wanted you to be unhappy" the Blue Fairy closed her eyes briefly, opening them again slowly, hiding the pain that the true statement brought.

"I don't plan on being unhappy forever, Puck" she told him "I plan on being able to protect this land from evil, to help anyone who calls my name. I want to help people to be happy-"

"And yet" Puck interrupted her, his voice lower and more accented "You deny yourself the one piece of happiness you had left"

And with that, Puck walked out of the bedroom, out of the castle, and out of her life.

OUAT

"You pushed him away?" Jiminy sounded confused. The Blue Fairy nodded, her hands wringing in her lap.

"I told myself that I did what I had to do, that he would've distracted me from my duties" she let out a heavy breath, lowering her head so that it fell into her palm "But...The truth was he...He reminded me to much of Lissy" she admitted in a small voice, her head rising sorrowfully from her hand "And I was hurting so much, I missed her, _so much_...I couldn't be around him" she sighed deeply, her fingers still on her forehead. But then she sat up, and placed her hands elegantly in her lap, but despite her regal posture, the cricket could still see the overwhelming sadness in her light brown eyes "And that, my dear Jiminy, is where my story ends" she smiled at him, an expression full of gratitude and relief.

"Thank-you, Jiminy. Thank-you so much for listening. You truly do have the purest soul I've ever seen" she said, and he watched her as she rose out of her periwinkle blue chair, made it disappear with a wave of her wand started to flutter into the air, completely oblivious to the surprise and confusion the cricket was feeling.

It was finished? Done? Just like that?

The Blue Fairy, the poor, broken Blue Fairy, fluttered up to the small window in Gepetto's workshop. Without either of them realising it dawn had broken outside, a thin stream of orange and pink fading the deep navy of the sky into a darkish blue. A million questions were buzzing around in the crickets head, all of them fighting to be the first to be spoken. As the Blue Fairy got to the window, bringing her wand forward to magically open it, he spoke the one question he was most desperate to ask:

"Blue?" she turned, an eyebrow raised, and Jiminy coughed nervously "If...If I may ask just one more thing? Um..." he hesitated, and the Blue Fairy waited for him to continue, and after a few moments of searching for the right words, he did:

"W-why did you tell me all of this? About Amaryllis?"

The Blue Fairy bit her lip, casting her eyes to the ground. She waved her wand and the window magically opened, and for a moment Jiminy thought that she wouldn't answer him and instead just leave. He wouldn't blame her for it, it was a very personal question, and despite what everything she'd told him that night he didn't really have a right to-

"Jiminy, in a few months the Dark Curse will be upon us" said the Blue Fairy, and if Jiminy had eyebrows they would've shot up into his forehead "The Evil Queen will cast us all into a new land, where we will forget who we are, everyone we ever loved, and everyone who ever loved us" her voice grew hoarser as she spoke, sounding like she was going to start crying again. But she didn't.

"I just...I suppose I just wanted to remember her one last time" she admitted, a sad little smile on her tiny face "I wanted to remember my girl, my beautiful, brave, mischievous, kind little girl...My Amaryllis" she whispered the last part reverently, and before Jiminy could speak-although Gods knew what he could even say at that moment-she flitted off into the dawn, her bright glow fading as she got farther and farther away from the cottage, the window slowly closing behind her.

Jiminy Cricket stayed there for a while, processing everything he had learned in the space of one night. He was...Heartbroken, bewildered, astounded, the all powerful Blue Fairy's story of the only person she had ever truly loved leaving him in a whirlwind of wonder.

Shaking his head, the cricket hopped off the candle-holder, onto a nearby chair, and then onto the dusty floor where he squeezed through a crack in the workshops wooden door.

Unbeknownst to him the candle, which had burned all night while the Blue Fairy told her story, was still on the table. There was only the smallest stub of wax left, and amongst the warm pool of wax that had collected around it, the tiny flame was still harmlessly flickering.

_**This is the final chapter of **_**Amaryllis: The Story of The Blue Fairy, **_**I hope I didn't upset anyone too much with the previous chapter and I hope you enjoyed the ride (well, as much as you can considering the content of this fic...) Thank-you all for your kind reviews:**_

_**Scarlet Phlame, the idea of what, Marcie Gore and last, but by no means least, polybi. This fic only got seven reviews but they all meant so much to me, and I'm glad you took the time to read it. Thank's guys!**_


End file.
